


My Future from the Past

by ladyfeather



Category: FAKE (Manga)
Genre: M/M, Sanami Matoh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 00:51:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 80,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2004633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyfeather/pseuds/ladyfeather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I've decided to make a long, multi-chapter story, although each chapter can and will stand on its own. But put together they will tell the story of Randy Ryo MacLean as he heads into his future, and those that travel along with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Merry Christmas Randy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Brit_Columbia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brit_Columbia/gifts).



> All characters other than my original characters belong to Sanami Matoh, and rightfully so. I just expand their horizons a bit. Point them in a more interesting direction, shall we say?  
> My extreme thanks to Brit_Columbia for taking the time to find all those horrid errors I made, not once but twice. I think I fixed them all.  
> * I consider the two encounters between Ryo and Leo (taken from the manga) to be several months apart.  
> The timeline begins directly after Volume 7, mid-November to Christmas Eve (chapter 1)

#=#=#=#=#

Chapter 1

Both Dee and Ryo collapsed in near exhaustion onto the couch in Ryo's living room. Their clothes were dirty and rumpled, their hair askew and muddied. Their bodies were in much the same condition; bruised, dirty, and showing other signs of recent abuse. But they were both smiling.

It was 8PM on a Saturday evening in November, less than 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, and the weather had been unseasonably warm all day. Mother and the staff at the orphanage had always chosen one day each month to celebrate all the birthdays for that month, and today had been the day to celebrate the November birthdays. And there were a lot of birthdays in November. Dee blamed it all on Valentine's Day, and Ryo really couldn't go against the logic; he was a November baby too. After the party the boys dragged Uncle Ryo and Uncle Dee out for a few innings of impromptu baseball, something they could rarely do this late in the season. The girls had already treated them to an early afternoon birthday/tea party, with Uncle Ryo as the birthday guest of honor.

Dee turned to Ryo, scratching his head and yawning, "I don't know about you, but I think I'm gonna be living up to National Impotency Month tonight."

Ryo snickered. "Ha! I'll believe that when I see it! Unless you're just getting old, eh Dee? I think you're just worn out, since most of the kids are boys, and they love to rough-house with their 'Uncle Dee'. Maybe you should exercise more?"

That comment earned Ryo an evil eyebrow from Dee, but Ryo continued. "You only got the wind knocked out of you – I caught the baseball on my forearm." Ryo frowned, looking convincingly wounded, while examining the bruise that had spread to three times the size of the initial impact area, and swollen equally in size. He had gotten his arm up just in time to deflect the offending projectile before it hit him in the face. "At least it's my arm and not my eye. It's gonna be stiff for a few days – no marksmanship records for the next few weeks."

Dee was still pouting. "Ha! Speak for yourself old man! Yeah, I feel like I just did a 10 block chase after a perp! Sheesh, I don't remember having that much energy as a kid." Dee frowned, brow burrowed in thought. Maybe he did need to get in better shape. He hadn't seen the inside of a gym for at least 6 months.

Dee quickly changed the subject. "And like you care about competition records! Your only competition is JJ, and he's out of town for a conference in LA. I don't see him running back here to challenge you to a shoot-out, especially since it a conference on drug supply lines into the US. You know he loves stuff like that – it brings his sharp-shooting skills to the fore. He loves being the center of attention."

Ryo had wandered into the kitchen to get some ice for his arm. "Nah, he's probably out there putting in applications for me to join the LA Police Department. I overheard him mention it to Drake last week, something about getting himself a nice Christmas present by transferring me out of the 2-7 to the LAPD. If I get any offer letters he's going to eat them – I WILL know who they came from. And you know as well as I that you can never be sure if JJ is kidding."

**Thanksgiving 2AM**

Both Dee and Ryo had showered and were currently sucking up as much comfort from the bed as they possibly could. "Damn, that was one rough double-shift tonight. At least we don't have parade duty tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I hate parade duty."

"That's today Dee, about 5 hours from now. The Chief knows that we visit the orphanage on holidays like this, that's why we do double shifts the day before. Only once we had to disappoint them on a holiday; that was the stalker/rapist case."

"Yeah, holidays are no fun for kids with no family." Dee got very quiet, a serious look on his face. He was remembering years ago. Most of the kids came and went, but there was always a core group that were 'family'. The un-adoptables. Dee had always felt himself a permanent member of that club. Of course, when possible adoptive parents came to view the children, he always made sure he wasn't going anywhere. To him, the orphanage was not a bad place to be. He knew what to expect there; these strangers that came in and looked them over like prospective pets were blank slates – no telling who or what they were.

Ryo was contemplating a reply to the comment when Dee rolled over and asked, "Do you regret not having any kids? That we ... you don't have a family of your own?'

The question caught him by surprise, and drove all thoughts of sleep from his mind. He rolled so he could look at Dee.

"No, not any more, not since I surrendered to my feelings for you. I gave up that silly notion that you have to procreate to have a real family. I gave up a lot of ill-conceived notions once 'we' became 'us'. And what do you mean about not having kids? We DO have kids, plenty of kids. First and foremost, we have Bikky and Carol, and we have all those sad children at the orphanage. What about little Pedro, who only spoke to you and Mother for a year, trusting no one else? And sweet little Katie; she really tugs at my heart. There are so many more, and each one is special."

Ryo shifted a bit closer to Dee. "Why else would we spend one or two full days a month with them, and as many evenings as we can manage in between? We have children that need us, that look forward to being with us, so that makes them ours, right? We have one hell of a family, Dee. I just wish we could do a bit more for them financially. Mother does her best, but after this long, her finances must be starting to dwindle."

"Yeah, I know, she really works hard, with very little male help with the kids. I just wish that I'd had an Uncle Dee and Uncle Ryo when I was there. It might not have taken me so long to straighten out."

Wrapping his arms around his dark-haired lover, Ryo pulled Dee close to him. "Dee, you've turned out perfect. I wouldn't want to change a thing. Now get to sleep, we've got a feast to cook in a few hours."

#=#=#=#=#

Morning arrived all too soon. Ryo roused Bikky then headed for the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the three of them. Surprisingly Bikky hadn't put up too much of a fuss about Dee staying over last night, though he did voice his opinion that he would have preferred Dee to sleep on the sofa. Perhaps Bikky realized that it was easier after a double shift for the two men to be able to leave from one place.

Once breakfast was over, it was time to head for the orphanage. They all knew that Mother had the turkeys already cooking; what she needed now was help with the other parts of the meal. Once they arrived, Ryo immediately put Bikky to work peeling potatoes with the other kids. Dee had already donned an apron and was gathering ingredients to make several pies and cakes. If the other CI detectives saw Dee now, he would never live down the embarrassment. Ryo smiled at the thought.

Ryo was left to help with the side dishes, and assist Mother in supervising the odd group of kitchen helpers she had. The younger orphans had been enlisted to spread the tablecloths and place the napkins and silverware, while the older ones put out the dishes and glassware, guiding the younger ones with care. Everyone except the very youngest had a part to play in making Thanksgiving Dinner happen. They were under the watchful care of the other Sisters at the orphanage.

Once everything had been made, all that was left was moving the food to the dining hall. Dee and Ryo took a break while the older kids took all the dishes out to assemble the meal on the tables. Dee slipped outside for a breath of fresh air, and Ryo followed him.

Dee leaned against the wall, moving his head to look at the clouds in the sky; it was another beautiful Indian summer day. Ryo moved to stand in front of Dee, and smiled. "You have flour on your nose."

"It wouldn't surprise me where I had flour. Sissy got a bit wild there at the end and was 'dusting' everything, not just the pans. But I can't complain, they all had fun."

"And so did you, I was watching. You love these kids as much as I do." Ryo moved closer to Dee, putting his hands in the back pockets of Dee's jeans.

Dee reached out and pulled him even closer. "Have I told you today that I love you, Mr. MacLean?" He gave Ryo a quick kiss on the forehead, then ran one hand through Ryo's hair. "And that somehow you have flour in your hair?"

Ryo tilted his head up, as if he could see where Dee was looking. That was all Dee needed. He pulled Ryo close, whispered 'I love you so very much', and engulfed him in the most sensuous kiss he could muster.

Oblivious to everything going on around them, they never heard Mother come out the back door until she cleared her throat and spoke. "I hate to interrupt you boys, but dinner is on the table and we are not-too-patiently waiting for you two so we can say grace. Now get moving before I drag you both in by your ears." They hastily broke apart, both men blushing. Mother had spoken.

#=#=#=#=#

After Thanksgiving, the days flew by. The string of armed robberies, burglaries, assaults, and thefts that accompanied the holiday season kept everyone in the CI unit busy. Christmas shopping kept Carol and Bikky busy, often dragging either Dee or Ryo with them when they weren't working overtime at the precinct. Hours tended to be long this time of year. When they did manage to drag either of them along, they mostly did window shopping. But it was still time well spent, the kids enjoyed private time with both men. As for Dee and Ryo, the kids were good for scouting info on what the other partner wanted, and they both used that advantage to the fullest.

Most of the CI unit was a little on edge – the schedule for the days between Christmas and New Years hadn't been posted yet, and tomorrow was Christmas Eve. The schedule that had been posted was removed two days ago. Ted was definitely getting pissed. How was a man supposed to schedule his Holiday Love Life if he didn't know when he was available?

**Christmas Eve, 7 AM**

"Damn Ryo, did you finally screw the Commish? It looks like we **BOTH** have the next 6 days off. We're listed for 'special duty' on Christmas night, whatever that is, but then nothing until New Years, second shift at that. "

"What? Don't be silly Dee, you know better. And really, Rose hasn't gotten within 10 feet of me lately. Let me see that schedule. Hmmm, looks like whatever is planned is for late in the day. And the Commish is on the assignment too. It just might be a stakeout."

Dee scowled at the schedule. "Damn, I wonder if the assignment lasts all 6 days, and we really don't have off? We can spend the day and have dinner with Penguin and her crew before having to report for duty. We'll have to let Bikky stay over with Penguin since it doesn't say how long we're going to be on duty. I hope it's not a lengthy stakeout duty, but if Rose is involved I bet it is, or something equally boring. I really don't want to spend my nights with the commish - not when I want to take you home and unwrap you, piece by lovely piece."

"Oh really, so I don't get to unwrap you? Or maybe you would rather be violently stripped and slathered with chocolate? From the waist down? And I won't use a brush ..."

"Oh, talk dirty to me Ryo ..."

Ryo smiled. He had Dee right where he wanted him. "I think that's enough to hold you until tonight. Now how about lowering that in box of yours by a few inches?"

"You sure do know how to spoil the mood."

**Christmas Eve, 11 AM**

"Gah, I'm tired Ryo. My fingers are cramped from filling out all these forms. Isn't it lunch time yet? Sheesh, why did I quit smoking? How about a break at least? Please?"

"All right, all right, we'll go to lunch. Drake and JJ just left, so maybe we can catch them at the diner. I'd like to at least sit and talk with them about something other than crime, and wish them a pleasant holiday. But JJ better keep his hands to himself. I'm getting a bit possessive about you lately, especially after that little stunt he pulled…."

Dee just smirked, secretly pleased to hear such a statement from Ryo.

They spotted Drake and JJ seated at one of the far booths, mainly since Drake was waving for them to join them. They made their way to the back, Ryo sliding in next to JJ – much to JJ's dismay – and Dee settled across from Ryo. At least JJ got the pleasure of being able to stare at Dee, even though he couldn't touch. He'd learned to be a bit more cautious around Ryo after finding his sandwich stuffed with the LAPD application he'd had sent to Ryo.

Drake started the conversation, aiming his first comment at Ryo. "What did you do Ryo, let the Commish screw you? How come you guys have six days off?"

The comment caught Ryo off-guard. _I guess it does look suspicious, that much time off. This isn't the time of year to pull off that type of vacation._ "You're the second one to suggest something like that. Do I really look like that kind of person? Really now, that would be more Dee's style."

"Yeah, except that Rose would rather see Dee on duty in Alaska than anywhere near his bed," sniffed JJ. Then, turning to face Dee he gleefully added, "But you're welcome in my bed anytime, my Adonis."

"And **I'd** rather be in Alaska than in your bed," retorted Dee, with a quick glance toward Ryo. He didn't want to chance getting Ryo upset about JJ right now.

Drake, being totally outside this conversation, decided the subject needed changing. "So, what's this 'special duty' you guys have scheduled for tomorrow? Maybe it's something that will take several days to complete? A stakeout maybe? I know there's some funny business going on with the gangs right now."

Ryo shook his head. "Haven't a clue Drake. Neither of us knew anything about it until it showed up on the roster this morning. Rose isn't in today so we can't ask him what it's about. I've left messages on his phone and sent him an email asking for details. but I haven't gotten any reply yet. I guess it could be a stakeout or something. Kinda looks like it, since it starts at night, though I'll have to find out fast, I may need to find a sitter for Bikky for a few days."

Drake laughed. "Don't look at me. I'm on duty for most of those days, and unless you want him camped in your office at the precinct, I can't do it."

The conversation was broken by the arrival of the waitress. After ordering, the topic had changed to a more seasonal one; what each was planning on doing, the parties each knew of, who had relatives coming in, that sort of thing. And everyone had a story about the wackiest gift they ever received, and quite a few about gifts they had given.

**Christmas Eve, 2 PM**

Ryo looked up as the gentleman lightly rapped on the frosted glass of the partially open office door.

"Yes, do come in."

A very well dressed gentleman entered, carrying a briefcase. He looked to be a professional businessman, perhaps even a lawyer. "Detective Randy MacLean?"

Ryo stood and nodded as the man entered, motioning to the extra chair next to his desk. " Yes, please, have a seat. What can I do to help you? "

As he sat he offered his business card to Ryo. "Thank you. My name is Abraham Silverberg. I am a representative of Greater Manhattan Associates, the law firm handling the estate of Liotta Grant. I do believe you knew him as Leo Grant? Upon his passing earlier this year we were given a specific task to perform for your benefit." At that, Mr. Silverberg opened his briefcase and handed both a large manila package and a sealed letter envelope to Ryo.

Ryo hid his shock at the mention of Leo. Another Christmas Eve that he was meddling in. Would it never end, even with his death? Glancing down at the envelope, he noticed it was marked, READ FIRST. "What is this all about?"

"He insisted that you wait until you are alone, at home or such, to read the contents. He asked that you at least be away from anyone that may accidentally see what is written. I do know it is a very personal letter to you that is enclosed. The contents were specifically written for only you to read, though if you wish to share the information later on, that is your prerogative. Will you be able to abide by his wishes?"

#=#=#=#=#

Dee noticed that Ryo was exceptionally quiet on the ride home. He had asked if anything was wrong, or if the Commish had hit on him again, but Ryo shook his head and said nothing. He had a large manila package that he held securely on his lap.

Once dinner was over and they had gotten Bikky to bed, Ryo pulled Dee into the kitchen.

"I had a visit from a lawyer today. He gave me a letter, and the large package I brought home."

Dee sighed. "What did Bikky do now? Jeez, I try to keep an eye on him when you're not around but you really need eyes in the back of your h..."

"No, it's not about Bikky. He was one of Leo's lawyers. Leo left a letter for me, to be delivered on the Christmas Eve after his death. The instructions were to read it alone, in private, away from prying eyes. Will you sit with me?"

"You don't need to ask Ryo, anything for you." Dee's attitude got very serious. Even he wondered what that dead gangster was doing upsetting Ryo on Christmas Eve.

"Thanks, love." Quickly Ryo got everything he had left in the bedroom and brought it to the kitchen.

The large manila envelope held several folders labeled with the title of the information held, within each were numerous legal documents. And there was a small sealed envelope marked 'RECORDS ACCESS'. Putting that aside, Ryo opened the letter marked READ FIRST.

The letter contained in that envelope was several pages long, and hand written with an uncharacteristic neatness not expected of a man. Ryo took the first page and started reading.

_Dear Detective MacLean,_

_No, let me call you Randy, if you don't mind, and even if you do mind. Grant me that small favor, since that's who you were when our paths first crossed._

_Since that night several weeks ago when you witnessed my elimination of a 'problem', you have returned to my thoughts constantly. I believe that you overheard most, if not all, of the conversation. I sincerely do regret your finding out such sordid details in that harsh a way._

_That fateful Christmas Eve so many years ago, unknown to either of us, set things in motion that would determine our future lives. We have each changed the other's destiny. I made you a cop, while you gave me, a professional murderer, a guilty conscience._

_We did not meet for the first time several nights ago, we met, or I should say I met you, that terrible Christmas Eve. We were ordered to go to the hospital to determine the fate of our 'targets', to make sure we wouldn't be identified. I won't go into details as to the orders that went with that, but as a seasoned police officer I do believe you can guess._

_You were sitting outside the room where they had placed your parents, looking like your world had collapsed. I guess in a way it had. If I had known, it never would have happened. I had to rely on information from an unfamiliar source; I have since made sure to double-check all information. We were told that your parents' car contained targets; very expendable targets, an error totally unforgivable. I don't think I've ever seen anyone as lost and confused as you that day. It brought back bad memories for me. But from that moment you took a different path to the future than you had ever imagined. You are two years younger than me, do you know that? Well, you were, I've stopped aging, haven't I?_

_What had you wanted to do with your future, Randy? Has anyone ever asked? I know you had exceptional grades, major university scale. Almost 5.0. Read a lot about you in the paper after that fateful afternoon. Did you want to follow in your parents footsteps? Take their place when the time came and become a successful art dealer? Open your own gallery in Manhattan? Really, it doesn't matter now, does it? You're a cop tracking your parents' murderers. But you can relax and maybe follow that dream, the last perpetrator has been neutralized. We are all dead now._

_I know a lot about you Randy, but you really know nothing but my arrest & conviction record, and the fact I'm Bruno's adopted kid. My turn to come clean. I too am an only child that lost his parents to a freak accident. We are alike in several ways._

_I am a mobster, a gangster, mafiosa, murderer. Heartless, cold-blooded, mindless killer of human beings. Only, since that first horrid mistake, I have taken great pains not to involve any innocent civilians. I don't want to hurt those who don't deserve it. Not after what I did to you. You have become my albatross._

_My parents were in thick with Bruno – my dad was one of his most trusted men, reliable to a fault. He handled the southern Italy range of Bruno's territory. My mother worked keeping his books straight, all three sets of them. But there was a horrible boating accident off Naples. Both went overboard in shark-infested waters. Most of the wreckage showed signs of being shark-bitten. Needless to say they were never found._

_Bruno took me in as his son, adopting me within a year. He introduced me into the family as a companion for his daughter Alicia. I think she was afraid of me at first. Like me, she had very few childhood friends. No one anywhere wants to associate with mafia children, especially if they are from high ranking members, even more so in Italy. We had a rocky friendship, but as the years flew by, she came to care for me, I believe._

_But I wanted to take my father's place in the grand scheme of things. What better way than through the Big Man's daughter? Marry Alicia and I've got it made. Right? I thought so. I didn't count on her falling in love with me. She wanted a man, not a mobster. I'm afraid that although I've succeeded as a mobster, I've failed as a man._

_But enough about me. Let's address the reason for this letter._

_I read how the rest of your illustrious family thought the worst of your parents, even after being cleared of all charges after a lengthy investigation. I guess they thought if it took that long to clear them then they had to be guilty. You're better off without them. And if you've watched their business dealings over the last 10 years, a lot of things haven't gone their way. Quite a few bad business ventures, I made sure of that. Bad business ventures that benefited me, and in turn, you. But more on that later._

_I have made some arrangements especially for you this Christmas. I have authorized my lawyers that upon my death, they release certain things to the Police Commissioner, which will trigger other events, all aimed in your favor. Everything I planned is to start on December 24_ _th_ _and culminate on December 25_ _th_ _._

_This paperwork has been with my lawyers since soon after the 'Sam' incident. I will tell you that only two people have the right to kill me, and one of them is you. At this time I cannot say if either of you gave me the pleasure of my demise, but I felt you should know where I place you in my life. I was not kidding when I said you could shoot me. You definitely have the right._

_But at that time you couldn't do it. For as much as we are alike, we are totally different. You can kill but you are not a killer. The man that stood before me with the shaking gun was not Randy MacLean, Detective, but an 18 year old young man facing the horror of his parent's death. I'm so sorry._

_The enclosed bankbook is yours. It is your inheritance from your estranged family. Please enjoy it with my blessings, since they will never miss it. By all rights, it should be yours since it was 'stolen' from your parents. The money is not mob money – it is MacLean money. You can trace it back with the records I have supplied. And it is completely legitimate; they cannot contest it._

_I've taken great pains to make sure of that. I started to gather these funds soon after that fateful day. Your grandfather and his brothers made their living in real estate. Their real estate dealings, shall we say, had a number of ups and downs? And I capitalized on their downs for you. Of course, I arranged most of those downs to test their vulnerability. Fools._

_I've included paperwork detailing the current investment of your funds, and how to access the online files. Please, feel free to use the law firm I had. They are not mob related, just very good at what they do. I have set up an account with them to handle anything that may arise that is related to this case._

_So in closing, Merry Christmas Randy. I've owed you this for a very long time. Go start an art shop._

_Liotta 'Leo' Grant_

As each page was read, Ryo passed it to Dee. When they had gone through the whole letter both sat silently for some time. Several times Ryo picked up a random page and re-read it. Finally, Ryo reluctantly opened the bankbook. A gasp of surprise escaped from his throat, and he placed the closed bankbook on the table, pushing it to where Dee would be able to reach it.

Several minutes later, Ryo broke the silence. "That was totally unexpected. Did you see the amount in the bankbook?"

"Yeah, when are you moving us to the nice, quiet suburbs? Looks like he screwed them over good. Must've had some good investors handling this account. The interest deposits are astounding."

"I think I just came up with a special Christmas gift for Mother, don't you?"

Dee looked a bit disappointed. "You aren't keeping it, then, not a penny? We could get a mansion on the Hudson with that." Catching the look in Ryo's eyes, Dee decided that was off the list. "Or at least a decent car - we really could use a more reliable vehicle. The bike don't work for foul weather and the Honda's seen better days. Maybe a Porsche?" Dee grinned hopefully.

"Oh, no, no Porsche in your future. Ever. You're not safe to ride with in the police cars. I will pay off your bike though. But don't worry, I fully intend to use some of it. Both Bikky and Carol will get decent college educations. With this there will be no strain on my salary to put each of them through 4 years. And there are a few older children in the orphanage that have little hope of advancing their educations, and really deserve a chance. I'm going to make sure that all get a chance, and their scholarships will be publicized as, 'courtesy of the MacLean Education Fund'. I can get some revenge with this too. I didn't think I would ever come to not hate Leo, but I see now that those past events scarred him too. And he got revenge on my family for me, to an extent that I could never have achieved on my own."

Ryo waved the bankbook in the air. "Thank you, Leo. I'll put this to good use."

"You really do love those kids as if they were your own, don't you? You're an old softie for the kiddies."

"Maybe I just have a thing for orphaned children." Ryo leaned over and kissed Dee softly on the lips.

"And I have a thing for people who take in orphans." Dee pulled Ryo down onto his lap, and advanced the kissing, and a few other niceties, to a more seductive level.

A half-naked Ryo came up for breath. "Not here, bedroom!" Quickly shoving the papers and bankbook back in the envelope, Ryo grabbed said envelope in one hand and Dee's hand in the other, pulling him toward the bedroom.

#=#=#=#=#

TBC


	2. Merry Christmas Ryo

**Christmas Day 6:30 AM**

BAM! BAM! BAM! The vibrations from the pounding on the door had even the windows rattling. "Ryo! Dee! Quit fooling around in there, you pervs! My presents are waiting for me to open them! I've been up for a half hour already! Come on, the toast is getting cold. I even started the coffee maker for you guys! Let's go!"

Dee nuzzled closer to Ryo, tightening his hold on the warm body. "Damn, must be Christmas, the brat made us breakfast, sort of. But **you** taste it first, he may have found some rat poison or something...."

Swatting Dee playfully on the rump, Ryo called out to Bikky, "We'll be out in a few minutes, Bikky. Thanks for the coffee, we appreciate it!" Turning to Dee he reprimanded, "And you, be nice, it's Christmas! At least he's trying to accept you. Admitting that he made it for **us** is a big step for him."

"Yeah, that's true. He did say 'you guys'. But I still think he only tolerates me for my bike." Dee stretched, scratched his head and yawned loudly. Once again, the banging started. "He's not gonna stop that pounding until we get out there. Hell, the neighbors might even call the cops on us for all the noise, since it's not even 7AM yet."

Ryo's hearty laughter rang through the room. "I do believe that would be difficult to explain at work, eh? Let's go, sleepyhead."

Ryo's emotions were still unsettled from the events of the previous evening. He was slowly putting together what he wanted to tell Mother Lane, and how. He and Dee had discussed it a bit before going to sleep. She was in for one very surprising afternoon. Lost in those thoughts, he was distracted enough to actually settle for lukewarm toast and coffee that morning, and not argue, or even notice, that Bikky hadn't eaten anything at all.

Unlike Bikky, they had taken their time opening the gifts. Dee was overjoyed to see a full leather outfit for his bike-riding pleasure, and Ryo was equally impressed with the leather and satin 'Harley sidekick' outfit Dee had hand-picked for him. Ryo knew this would necessitate a special 'thank you' fashion show later, because this definitely wasn't the time to try on the outfit.

As they had done at Thanksgiving, they all were to help with dinner at the orphanage. Even though they didn't always help with making dinner on Christmas, they did always visit. Ryo didn't want any child to be alone on such a special day. To him, Christmas was a holiday for children, a time to be happy and forget about the bad things in the world.

After that wretched Christmas Eve when he was 18, Ryo had always tried to stay around places full of children during Christmas week. The contagious laughter and joy that radiated from the kids always seemed to have a way of seeping into those around them. For Ryo, it tended to counteract the melancholy thoughts that tried to take over his emotions during this time of year. It had taken a while to admit it, but he didn't like being alone during this time of year.

Once he had been transferred to the 2-7 and met Mother Lane, he knew where he needed to be during the holidays – with these children, showing them how to enjoy the simpler things in life, how to be happy despite hardships, how to share laughter. With the profession he had chosen, these children were a welcome blessing.

But before they left for the orphanage, Ryo called his aunt. After exchanging the normal holiday greetings, he told her about Leo's 'gift'. She was as surprised as Ryo, but also very glad that someone had been able to get even with those greedy sons-of-bitches. She knew something had happened within the family business, but never was able to determine exactly what transpired. Her father and her uncles had parted under the worst of circumstances, and had never reconciled to this day. As far as she was concerned, they deserved to lose a lot more.

Ryo asked if she had time open later in the week, so they could get together and discuss this new wrinkle in the family affairs, and maybe rehash some old things. She gleefully wanted to see the damage done, and Ryo was all too willing to show her. So after setting a time to meet on the 30th, Ryo hung up and gathered everyone to go do battle with Christmas dinner.

#=#=#=#=#

The meal was delicious. Something about having to help make it always made food taste better. The table had been cleared and the older children were in the process of returning the kitchen to normal working order. The younger ones had gone off to play with the new toys that had been delivered by Santa, via the 27th precinct. Mother, Dee, and Ryo still sat at the table.

Ryo cleared his throat and turned toward Mother Lane. "Mother, could we go to your study? I have something of importance that I would like to discuss with you." Mother looked from Ryo to Dee, who smilingly nodded in agreement with Ryo.

Sensing they had something up their sleeves, so to speak, she agreed. Ryo had been uncommonly fidgety during dinner; Mother had wondered what was bothering him. "Certainly, I could go for a cup of my favorite tea right now anyway. Follow me."

Dee gathered what he needed to make the tea while Ryo settled Mother in her favorite chair. He hoped that the surprise wouldn't be too much for her. It wasn't every day you were granted stewardship of a scholarship fund.

Dee gathered everything on the tray, placed it on the small table in her room, then settled beside Mother. The men had agreed beforehand that Dee would be beside her to calm her if necessary. Dee smiled at her and took her hand. "It's all good Mother, nothing bad."

Ryo took her other hand in both of his. "Do you remember me mentioning Leo Grant? He was the last to die of those mobsters ordered to kill my parents. It seems he left a letter for me, with instructions that it be delivered on Christmas Eve. It was quite a letter."

Ryo took a deep breath, gathering his composure before continuing. "It seems Leo was distraught about the death of my parents. It brought back memories of his own parents' violent death – a boating accident in shark-infested waters. He swore from that day on, he would never intentionally harm innocent people. From what I know of his record, he held very true to his word. Everything was checked and double-checked before a hit was done.

"What I didn't know is that he was infuriated by the behavior of my family, and in particular, their attitude toward me. So, within a year of my parents' death, he started a campaign to get revenge for me. He managed to legally gather money from my family, through various financial dealings, and put it in an account, to be given to me on the Christmas Eve after his death."

Ryo removed the bankbook from his inside pocket. "Mother, most of this will be entrusted to you. I will put aside some for Bikky's and Carol's educations, but the rest will become the MacLean Education Fund, to be used for the children who have the misfortune of not being adopted before graduating from high school. This is to be used for those who have no other way of going on to a higher education. I'll go to the bank to begin the legal work necessary to set this up tomorrow, but I wanted you to see this today."

Ryo slid the bankbook into her hand and kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas Mother Lane." She looked at him with curiosity, then opened it.

Her face flushed, and her breathing became very fast and erratic. "Oh dear Lord! That is an impossible amount of money. Ryo! Oh dear Lord in Heaven!"

Dee had already picked up the teacup and offered it to her. "Take a sip Mother, and calm down. It's real and it's legit. Leo connived them left and right to get Ryo's inheritance back for him. His money-grubbing family took every cent that his parents had and kept it. They even sold the house they'd lived in and kept that money too. Said Ryo was too young to inherit, that he didn't need it, that he wouldn't know how to handle the money maturely. They left Ryo high and dry."

Mother Lane looked to Ryo with her tear-filled eyes. "But, then this is your money, your inheritance. You should spend it."

"But I just have, Mother. On educations for deserving children. For all our children. And don't worry about me. I've got a bit put away that I was gathering for Bikky's college education."

They continued discussing how to set up the fund until the men had to leave for the precinct assignment. They both kissed a tearful, but very happy, Mother goodbye.

As they got in the car Ryo remarked that he finally got to give Mother something for all her hard work. And that it felt good.

Dee sighed wistfully, then smirked. "Well, it's not every day you have several million dollars to give away."

**Christmas Day 8 PM**

"All Rose said was that where we are going it would be better to go on Christmas day. The building will have a skeleton shift, giving a bit more privacy to the matters at hand. Did he give you any clue as to where we're going?"

"Nah, you know Rose doesn't confide in me. You're his little golden boy. He just told me that this time I was the better man to be with you. He didn't seem happy about it either. Think this has something to do with Leo?"

"I'd make book on it, especially after that comment in his letter about culminating on December 25th. But for the life of me, I can't come up with anything that dead mobster could do that would warrant our attention, especially on Christmas. I've had enough of his Christmas presents, even with the surprise of the last one." Distress at recalling that Christmas Eve so many years ago clouded his eyes, his mind returning to thoughts best left unremembered.

Just then the Commissioner entered. "Good evening, gentlemen. Are you ready for an amazing experience?"

#=#=#=#=#

Throughout the whole drive, the commissioner had not said a word as to where they were going, or why. But as Commissioner Rose pulled the squad car into the parking area of an old warehouse, Ryo turned toward the back seat where Dee sat and they exchanged confused glances. It looked like any old warehouse from the outside, but this was where all materials from unsolved cases were kept. They had been here many times, looking for evidence that might prove helpful on a cold case.

Once they alighted from the car, the Commissioner pulled Ryo to his side and put his arm around Ryo's shoulders. He then headed for the building entrance, leaving a seething Dee behind to catch up.

The commissioner chatted amicably with Ryo, ignoring both the uncomfortable look in Ryo's eyes and the killing daggers in Dee's. "Since early spring we have been in constant contact with Leo Grant's lawyers, sorting out paperwork and cutting red tape for you. I believe you met Abe Silverberg yesterday?"

At the puzzled glance he received from Ryo, Rose explained. "Yes, I knew about that too. Anyway, with the paperwork he supplied, all the possessions that the state rightfully claimed when investigating the case have been released to the care of the next of kin. That would be you Ryo. I personally have catalogued the items and all that was seized is accounted for."

Rose's demeanor became very serious. "There is one specific item that will interest you, in one of the suitcases, so I will leave you here in Dee's care." A wave of sadness swept across Rose's face, "I don't think I should be here for this."

After checking in with the lone guard, Rose led them through the dimly lit corridors. The echoes of their footsteps faded as they stopped in front of a solitary evidence room, with light shining through the frosted glass of its closed door. Rose took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He then turned and handed both the door key and the car keys to Dee. "You'll need these later. I have someone picking me up." As he strode down the hallway they had just traversed, over his shoulder he called out, "Merry Christmas Ryo, and you too, Dee!"

Both men were a bit shocked by Rose's words, but Ryo managed an equal sentiment to the Commissioner, as did Dee. Rose had left them in front of what seemed to be a private viewing room with the lights on, the door now partially open.

Once they entered they saw that the table held a half-dozen boxes and two suitcases. Several smallish paintings leaned against the wall, pinned in place by three finely carved ivory figures, their wrappings cushioning the floor beneath them. The sharp intake of Ryo's breath alerted Dee to the shock and surprise his partner was experiencing.

"I love you Ryo, I'm here for you. Just let me know if you need me." Dee could feel how badly Ryo was shaking, but his comment had earned his hand a loving squeeze and his lips a sweet kiss.

"I know. I love you too."

Ryo once more glanced toward Dee, again squeezing his hand, before turning toward the wall where the statues and paintings were. Just one glance had told Ryo that those highly detailed statues alone had to be worth thousands of dollars each. There were six paintings behind the figures, and from his memory he could place them to possibly the 16th or 17th century, the end of the Ming Dynasty in China. This was one of his parents' favorite eras.

Ryo went through the boxes slowly. One box was filled with primitive African art, carved of various endangered hardwoods, decorated beyond description. They were colored with vibrant natural stains, but yet they had a soft, natural look. As fresh as they looked he knew they were old, several centuries old.

Two boxes were filled with dozens of miniature Japanese sculptures known as netsuke; some made from exotic woods, bone, ivory, jade, and other valuable stone. All were extremely intricate in detail. In another box there were various small, finely-etched, high quality brass figurines from India, each wrapped in a special tissue paper to prevent damage. Amazingly, no moisture had managed to invade the paper and tarnish the brass. These weren't as old as the African carvings, but they were just as valuable.

All these items would have sold well in the art collectable society. The remaining boxes contained books of European artwork, mostly from before 1600. A few scrolls were included in one box, but they looked to need some restorative work. Perhaps they had been rescued from a damp monastery, where improper storage had damaged these fragile documents. Regardless, they were still very valuable.

Dee sat off to the side, watching every move Ryo made, ready to step in should his emotions take control. This was a side of Ryo he had never known, a facet that Ryo had never let show. He truly loved all this, he appreciated the artwork and the books. He could see the appreciation of the items in Ryo's handling of each piece. There was love in his eyes as he worked through the boxes – this was a field where he could be happy. Was this what he wanted to do before being thrown into the maelstrom created by Bruno and Leo?

All that remained now were the suitcases. Ryo ran his hand slowly across the top of the one, he was shaking even more now, his breathing becoming unsteady. You could see the old bloodstains across the top of the leather suitcases, and the gouges from the window glass as it flew through the air: They had been on the back seat of the car.

Dee noticed that Ryo had suddenly tensed considerably. "Are you all right Ryo? Do you want to stop for today? We can come back tomorrow if you like. This stuff has been here for years, another few hours won't hurt."

"No!" Ryo's reply was quite emphatic. "No," he repeated, more in control of his voice, "Rose said there was something in the suitcase that I needed to see. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be fine."

It took everything he had just to gather the courage to open the first suitcase. It was his father's. Other than clothing that had been clumsily folded to unsuccessfully hide the disheveled way they had been originally returned to the suitcase, there was a packet of papers in the side pocket. These were all the contracts and receipts for goods ordered while they were abroad, and all the provenances for the goods now displayed before him were here. All these items were legitimately his, and the value of them was quite impressive, especially with them being 12 year old quotes. Was this what Rose wanted him to see?

The other suitcase was his mother's. He had a few tears falling now. He didn't want to open this one. It was mostly filled with her clothes. Originally the clothes had also been carelessly gone through, crudely stuffed back in the suitcase, just as his father's clothes were. He wondered if it was Rose who refolded the clothing when he cataloged the items – they were too wrinkled to have been folded all this time. The favorite kimono that she wore on almost every special occasion was placed in one corner. He had wanted it for her burial but couldn't find it. He should have known that she wouldn't go anywhere without it. As he pulled it out of the suitcase to examine it, he noticed a silver-papered box, about 40 cm square and 15 cm deep, that was partially hidden under it. It wasn't wrapped, just tied with a red string, but there was a card under the string.

In his mother's handwriting it said, "Merry Christmas Son".

Dropping the kimono on the table, he picked up the box just as his legs would no longer hold him up. Dee saw that something was wrong and jumped up in time to catch him before he hit the floor. As he grabbed Ryo he saw the box and the attached card. He understood the shock as he guided Ryo to a nearby chair.

 _Holy shit, I never expected this._ "Ryo, babe, put your head down, between your knees. Breathe. You'll be OK, you were just surprised, that's all. You couldn't have known about this."

But Ryo just hugged the box in both arms with a death grip, his fingertips white with the pressure. His breathing had become sharp and ragged, his face deathly pale. There was no way to get it from him, not that Dee would have even tried.

"Ryo, I think you really need to get away from here, to someplace less public. Let me take you home, please? We can finish this tomorrow, pick up the boxes, figure out what else to do. And you need a bit more privacy for something like this. It will just be the two of us tonight, remember? So you can take your time with it, OK?"

_Now I know why we have the next 6 days off. Oh Ryo, love, what a shock for you! Rose, as much as I hate to say it, thanks for the favor – I owe you one._

Ryo had stayed in the chair, clinging preciously to the box, as Dee repacked the trinkets now scattered about the table. It had taken almost an hour for Ryo to regain his composure enough to leave the evidence room, and even then he relied heavily on Dee to get him home.

Dee carefully gathered Ryo and locked the room behind them, using the key Rose had given him. Evidently Rose had left orders that nothing in the room was to be touched under any circumstances other than fire or a natural disaster.

As soon as they arrived at Ryo's place, Dee guided Ryo to the sofa, then went to the kitchen to put water on for tea. He searched for and found some plain biscuits to help settle Ryo's stomach. It had to be in knots about now – his surely was. Way too many things had surfaced to assimilate in such a short time. Too many memories dredged up to muddy any lucid thought. He glanced into the living room. Ryo sat unmoving on the sofa, still clutching the silver box, staring at the greeting on the card's envelope. He hadn't let go of it since he removed it from the suitcase. Dee even had to open the car door for him since he would not relinquish hold on said box to grasp the door handle.

Dee made the tea and put the biscuits on a plate, arranging everything on the tea set Ryo had gotten from his aunt several years back. As he set the tray on the coffee table, he looked up to see Ryo studying him through red-rimmed eyes.

"After all these years. Oh Dee, I'm afraid to open it. It's heavy, and solid. After all the rest of the past 24 hours, can I handle this?" Finally he loosened his hold and placed the box on the coffee table.

With trembling hands, Ryo slowly removed the string, then carefully folded it, as if to save it for future use. He placed it very close to the box, so as not to lose it. Ryo muttered, to no one in particular, "In Japan, a red string symbolizes a life line between people." The card waited patiently to be picked up. Ryo fingered the edges of the envelope, carefully picked it up, then put it back down again. Tears were falling from his eyes, just missing the box in front of him.

Dee's heart beat in sympathy with Ryo's. This had to be the hardest thing Ryo had ever done. Moving beside Ryo, he caressed his back and kissed the side of his face, paying no attention to the salty tears. He pulled a clean handkerchief from his jacket pocket and gave it to Ryo. Ryo had already used his. Thank heavens they had dressed for work that evening.

"You can do it Ryo. This is yours alone, the most precious thing ever given to you by your parents other than life. This was special for them too, just by the fact they carried it with them."

Ryo nodded, wiped his eyes, blew his nose, and picked up the card again. Turning it over he noticed it wasn't sealed. Did the police open it to see if it had drugs in it? Or had she left it unsealed? After all this time did it just come loose? It would be hard to guess. _This is not a thought I need right now_.

Shakily Ryo removed the card inside, a translucent note card with Japanese scenery faintly visible on the rice paper. It was addressed to Ryo, not Randy, the greeting and his name written in kanji, but the rest of the letter was in English. Ryo took a deep breath and started to read:

_Our Dearest Ryo,_

_We thought deeply about what we should get for you this Christmas, your last as a regular student. Next year you will be enrolled in a fine university, possibly far from here and unable to return to us for the holidays._

_So we decided that we would give you something that would allow you to visit home whenever you wanted. Moments to share when you have time, be it morning or night. Like a substitute for your family if and when the need should arise. Phone calls are nice, but sometimes a face is more important._

_Your father contacted some of his closer relatives in Scotland, ones that aren't as uppity as the American MacLeans, and I contacted my family in Japan. Together we created an album that will take our place when we cannot be together. We truly hope you can feel all the love everyone has put into this, now and for all the years to come._

_Love forever,_

_Mom and Dad_

By the time Ryo had finished reading his hands were trembling so badly that Dee couldn't understand how Ryo could read what was on the note. Regardless, he put his arms around Ryo and held him tight. Something extremely important to Ryo was in that note. They stayed that way for several long minutes, until Ryo finally got his tears to stop and his shaking under control.

"It's almost like they knew. They gave me their love forever." Ryo clumsily removed the lid to the box, revealing a photo album wrapped in tissue paper, with the MacLean crest on one side and his mother's family crest on the other. There were no signs of damage or aging to it, not even a faint musty smell.

"Oh, Ryo. It's lovely. You want to take it to the bedroom and look at it alone? I don't mind waiting here."

"No, you're my family now. You should see this too, this is where I'm from, what I am. Probably things I don't even know about me. But yes, let's move to the bedroom. It is more comfortable there, we can stretch out our legs a bit. But bring the tea, please?"

For several hours they sat there, going through memories Ryo never knew he had. Ryo's emotions fluctuated from happy to sad, but he clearly was impressed by the effort put forth by both families on his behalf. Notes had been interspersed with the pictures to tell the story behind what he was looking at. The last page included names and addresses of the people who helped his parents put this together. They had spent a good part of that last trip gathering the materials they needed for the album. Some of the photos were the last ever taken of his parents while they were alive. Taking up the tie from the package, he folded the red cord into thirds, knotted it in the center, and carefully braided it into a bookmark. He placed it to mark the page with all the names and addresses before closing the book.

When he was done, Ryo held the book in his arms, hugging the many people it represented. Dee had his arm around his shoulders, comforting him in the oddly pleasant moment. After a while, Ryo rose and placed the album in his personal bookcase, where he kept only his most treasured collectables.

It had taken 24 hours to go through all that Leo had planned for him on this special Christmas. It would take much longer to fully appreciate these last gifts, both from his parents and their murderer, holding them all tenderly in his heart.

He got back on the bed, curled up against Dee, and asked, "Do you think Leo knew what was in the suitcases?"

Tightening his hold on his lover, Dee whispered, "Can't say love, and we'll never know, will we? It's quite possible he did, nothing's hidden to mafioso. And he did know that the state still had your parents' belongings. But regardless, he tried to right a wrong. That's not something a cold-hearted mobster does every day, much less for a cop."

"Yeah, again I have to thank Leo." Ryo fell silent, leading Dee to believe he fell asleep.

As Dee moved to leave the bed, Ryo's hand reached out and grabbed his shirt. "Where are you going? You're not leaving, are you?' Ryo looked at Dee, his eyes sad, questioning why Dee would be leaving him.

"No, just going to clean up a bit, and put away the tea set. We don't want that broken, do we? And I thought you fell asleep; you've had a rough 24 hours. Why don't you get ready for bed while I take care of the dirty dishes, hm?" Dee leaned over and gently kissed Ryo on the forehead.

Ryo, who had just about been asleep before Dee moved, rubbed his eyes and agreed. He slowly staggered toward the bathroom, yawning and dragging his pajamas behind him. Dee smiled as he watched him leave the bedroom.

By the time Dee finished cleaning up the kitchen and returned to the bedroom, Ryo was already in bed and fast asleep, curled up like a young child under the covers. After turning on the one small lamp by the bed, Dee retrieved the pajamas he kept in the back of Ryo's underwear drawer and went off to take a shower, before snuggling into the bed beside Ryo.

 


	3. The Last Christmas Gift

**December 26th**

Dee had slept restlessly, worried that the recent events might cause Ryo to be plagued with nightmares. Ryo had admitted once that he occasionally had such nightmares, and it was quite possible those bad memories could resurface. So every time Ryo moved, Dee woke up, anxious that he might be reliving that past Christmas Eve.

Dee had given up trying to get any useful sleep by 8 o'clock and got dressed, heading to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. There was no need to wake Ryo yet – he seemed to be sleeping quite peacefully, despite Dee's worries. _May as well let him get some rest. After all that he's gone through, he has to be mentally exhausted._

Having little to do while Ryo was still sleeping, Dee called Mother and gave her a fairly detailed accounting of what had happened the night before. He did his best to describe the many items Ryo's parents had purchased on that last fateful trip that had been returned, and most importantly, let her know of the priceless gift Ryo had received. He also asked if she could please watch Bikky for a bit longer than they had planned, while they got the paperwork started at the bank and a few other loose ends taken care of. Since they had been up so late, and Ryo still hadn't woken up, they would be getting a much later start than they had expected. He promised that they would make it to the orphanage in time to have dinner with her.

He also spoke with Bikky, only briefly detailing all that had happened the night before, but cautioning him to go easy on Ryo for the duration of the holiday. If Dee could keep Bikky from bouncing on Ryo's nerves for the week, so much the better. Ryo had a lot on his mind right now, and didn't need any extra stress. He also let Bikky know they would pick him up later and after dinner all three would go collect Ryo's new inheritance.

Dee had checked on Ryo a few times, but he was still sleeping like a baby. As he looked in again, for what seemed the umpteenth time, he realized that he really wanted to climb back into that bed and take a few liberties with that gorgeous body. But his better judgment won out, and he closed the door one more time. _There will be time for that later. And maybe he'll remember his promise about the chocolate tonight. I saw the can hidden in the one corner of the night table drawer, so it wasn't an idle threat...._

#=#=#=#=#

When Ryo woke up it was late morning - almost 11AM. He has been up most of the night, sitting with Dee, going through his newly obtained family album. Even though he knew that Dee wasn't there, he instinctively turned to check beside him in the bed, running his hand across the cold bed sheets. Dee had been up and gone for some time. Either that or he had never returned to the bed after taking care of the dishes last night, but he did have a vague recollection of warmth pressed up against his back during the night.

Ryo's mind was still reeling from all that he had experienced over the past 48 hours. Events and emotions that, at times, he had barely managed to keep hidden as shadows in the recesses of his mind had returned full blast, fully bared to his consciousness yet again. But now, there were many new angles to each of those shadows, important things he hadn't known or understood.

But with the arrival of this resurrection of the past's depressing memories, the opposite effect was also produced – a 12 year old Christmas gift that had never been given, that had never been received. For all those 12 long years it sat in darkness, waiting to be given to its rightful owner, to ease a heartache that had almost fallen to the depths of despair. And all this was brought to light because a murderer had a guilty conscience.

He glanced over to the bookcase that held his most treasured items – the album was still there. It wasn't a dream. He could see the red cord bookmark that he had carefully crafted from the package's binding tie peeking out from the top of the book. It proudly marked the page that listed all the relatives who had assisted in the creation of the album. A wave of grief for his parents swiftly coursed over him, but was just as quickly erased by a deep feeling of love for those long departed souls. Perhaps that gift meant more now than if he had received it when it was intended.

There was so much he needed to do. The Commissioner must have expected this when he gave them both the week off, although he really didn't need to give Dee time off too. Maybe he was finally realizing that Ryo was as serious about Dee as Dee was about him. Rose had actually admitted that Dee was the better man for handling the situation, and he was correct. _Not that Rose would have minded letting me cry on his shoulder, I bet_. _Oh well, it's Christmas – let's not be bitter, even if he is a letch and more of a pervert than Dee._

The soft click of the door latch distracted him from any further thoughts of the lecherous Commissioner. Ryo smiled as he saw Dee carefully peek around the door, cautiously looking to see if he was awake yet.

Ryo leisurely sat up. "Yes, I'm awake, finally." Flipping back the covers, he swung his feet to the floor and stood up, stretching his arms up and hiding a yawn with the back of his hand. "Had a bit of a late night last night, didn't we? When did you get up?"

But Dee didn't hear the question, he just stared at Ryo. The stretching motion had raised the short pajama top's hemline above his waist and dropped the drawstring pants to a dangerous level on his hips. Ryo had a light stubble just starting to show on his lower jaw, and his hair was framing his face in the most erotic way Dee had ever seen. But then, when hadn't Dee thought almost anything that man did was erotic and overtly sexy? That stretch was all the proof Dee needed at the moment.

Not receiving an answer to his question, Ryo turned slightly to look at Dee as he continued to stretch his back and arm muscles. Just from the glazed look in Dee's eyes and the direction of his gaze, he knew exactly where Dee's mind was traveling, and it wasn't a G-rated route.

Ryo smiled and moved toward the dresser. "Put the tongue back in your mouth and redirect your gaze. I'm not on the agenda for today, nor am I on the menu. " _At least not this early, but I don't dare say that with the ravenous look in his eyes!_ Ryo turned his attentions to the contents of the now opened dresser drawer. "I'm heading for the shower. What've we got for breakfast, or should I say lunch?"

Dee was disappointed that Ryo wasn't hastily dragging him into the bed, but it wasn't a complete surprise. He'd try later when Ryo didn't have so many things on his mind. After last night he was probably trying to get a grasp on how to handle this new wrinkle in his life. Dee had already made his own mental list of things Ryo would be wanting to do, and it would take all of the remaining daylight hours to attend to just a fraction of them.

Dee sighed, then a silly thought hit him. With a sly smile he said, "Well, if you're in an adventurous mood I can make pancake sandwiches, with peanut butter and jelly on them, making them a breakfast sandwich. Sound good?" For good measure, he added an eyebrow wiggle.

Ryo was busy collecting clothes from the drawer, so without bothering to even look in Dee's direction, Ryo replied, "Yeah, sounds good. I'll be out in about 20 minutes. And make some tea too, please." He then promptly strode off to take his shower, leaving a befuddled Dee standing in the doorway. Dee hadn't considered that Ryo would agree to the idea of pancake sandwiches, and was now belatedly wondering if there was pancake mix in the cupboard.

#=#=#=#=#

Lunch proved to be more appetizing than Dee originally thought. The whole wheat pancakes had made an excellent bread substitute and warmed the peanut butter, giving the ad-lib sandwich a more flavorful, nutty taste. Maybe next time he'd try chunky peanut butter. Since there were pancakes left over, Ryo put them in the freezer so they could have the treat again. Even Bikky could enjoy such a meal – it didn't involve any vegetables at all, and was deceptively nutritious!

While they ate lunch, Ryo laid out his plans for the remainder of the day. He wanted to make some phone calls before going out, so Dee cleaned up the kitchen while Ryo manned the phone. The first place that Ryo called was the Greater Manhattan Associates to set up a meeting with Mr. Silverberg. He asked what he needed to obtain from the bank, in the way of paperwork, to start the legal process to create the MacLean Educational Fund. That way he could have the paperwork in hand when they did meet to begin to formalize the non-profit organization.

After a few more calls, he told Dee he was ready to go. As they gathered their jackets, Ryo reached out for Dee's arm and momentarily stopped him. Dee turned and looked at Ryo questioningly.

"What's up, Ryo?"

"I haven't said thank you for last night, or even said I love you today. I can't forget that."

Dee looked into the dark eyes that looked up at him. A look that melted his heart and stirred feelings in his groin. "Oh Ryo, do you even know what you do to me? Unless you want to spend the rest of the day in bed, you better just give me a quick kiss and let us get out of here."

"But a quick kiss won't convey my feelings." At that, Ryo put his arms around Dee, his hands wandered under Dee's jacket, caressing Dee's back and sides. Ryo pressed his body against Dee, alerting both men to the rapidly increasing state of arousal that seemed to be mutual.

Dee returned Ryo's kiss with equal fervor. With one hand around Ryo's shoulders and the other around his hips, he pulled Ryo in like he would lose him if he let go. Tongues met and danced, each seeking dominance in the battle for control. Love and lust controlled their bodies' movements. By the time they broke mouth contact, panting for air, both were at full readiness, and very unwilling to let go of each other. Eyes gleamed with unbridled desire. Jackets had been shed and dropped to the floor, no longer an item of clothing that was needed.

"We can't right now. I've already told the bank we'd be there in a half hour." whimpered Ryo, kissing Dee's neck.

"Traffic was heavy," whispered Dee into the ear he was currently nibbling, while he started undoing the buttons on Ryo's shirt.

After a nearly non-existent pause, Ryo agreed. "Yeah, real heavy," as they headed for the bed, shedding clothes along the way.

#=#=#=#=#

The first stop of the day was the bank; of course, although they were a bit late in arriving. Almost an hour late. The time they had spent together had been over too fast, but it was very enjoyable and satisfied the urgency of the moment.

Even though Ryo had called ahead with the basic details, it was going to take a bit of time to properly set up the MacLean Education Fund account. Most of the money needed to be carefully invested in some secure portfolio, with only a small portion set aside for daily use. He would check with Mr. Silverberg if it was wise to continue with the companies that were currently being used. If not, this would take a bit more work to set up, but the groundwork at least would be started.

Dee was very surprised when Ryo insisted that he be part of the governing group for the Education Fund. Ryo explained that he needed someone reliable to take over should something ever happen to him, and in their line of work, whether they wanted to consider it or not, that wasn't an impossible occurrence. Once Bikky came of age, he too would be added.

Ryo didn't think he would have enough time in the week to get everything done that was necessary, but a good portion would be settled by the end of the week. The fund setup was started, but he still needed to find a safe place to put the art objects, and more importantly, how to insure them. Once again, he mentally thanked the Commissioner for the time off.

After leaving the bank Ryo stopped at a nearby flower shop and picked up the bouquet of dark pink roses, interspersed with white bellflowers, that he had ordered. Seeing Dee's puzzled look he explained that they were going to pay a visit to the Grant mausoleum; the flowers were for Leo. This confused Dee even further until Ryo explained that, in the language of flowers, they meant thankfulness and gratitude, and he owed Leo at least that much for all he had done on his behalf. Dee hadn't even considered that Ryo would do anything like this, and it took him quite by surprise. But then, he never could reliably predict what Ryo would do, since Ryo's mind worked so differently than his.

After they had finished what they could of the seemingly endless list of chores, they stopped to have dinner with Mother and retrieve Bikky. Once there, Ryo apologized for not having the album with him, but promised that in the remaining time they had off, he would make a special trip to go over it with her. After thanking her for caring for Bikky, the three said their good-byes and piled into the car.

Leaving the orphanage, they drove to the police building they had visited the night before. On the way, Dee and Ryo discussed the plans for the MacLean Education Fund. This was the first that Bikky had heard any mention of the actual value of the monetary inheritance. They let Bikky know that Ryo would be using it to fund both his and Carol's future education, along with those of other needy children from orphanages. Bikky listened quietly to the plan, not sure of what to make of this new facet of Ryo's inheritance.

Once they had parked in a fairly accessible spot, they entered the building. After stopping to get clearance from the one guard on duty, they proceeded directly to the evidence room. Dee unlocked the door to the room both he and Ryo had left the previous evening, noting that nothing had been touched. Bikky was in awe of what he saw in the room. The paintings and statues were magnificent, even to his uneducated eyes. Then Ryo opened the boxes to show his son the other items he had inherited.

The little Japanese netsuke sculptures were unlike anything Bikky had ever held. Ryo had placed one into his hand. It was carved from jade, shaped like a rabbit with small rubies set as eyes, gold leaf marking the nose, mouth, and paw pads. The head removed to reveal a small cavity to store some tiny treasure. Bikky was so afraid that he would drop it that he couldn't even breathe, much less move. It was so fine and fragile, he was afraid if he looked at it too hard it would break. He didn't relax until Ryo had taken it back and returned it to the box.

He had only viewed things like this in that museum they visited on the class trip. But in the museum they were all lined up neatly on glass shelves, behind locked glass doors. Nobody he knew could afford to own such treasures as these. And now all these belonged to Ryo? There were so many more here than the museum had. Bikky suddenly felt miles apart from his new father, truly embarrassed that he could never relate to that type of social environment.

On the ride home, Ryo noticed that Bikky seemed lost in thought. In fact, he had been extremely preoccupied since they had left the orphanage. He had seen the surprise and shock on his face when he showed him the boxes of figurines, and how hesitant he was to even touch any of the items. Once they were alone he needed to talk with him and find out what was bothering him, although he had a pretty good idea what it was.

They had only been able to put about half the items in the car, so a second trip was necessary. The three carried all the items up to Ryo's apartment, carefully placing them in the dining room for the time being. Later Ryo would have to find a safer place to keep these treasures, but for now they weren't going out of his sight. There was quite a bit of money involved between these few boxes, the statues, and the paintings, and at the moment he didn't trust any other place. Tomorrow he would start a search for somewhere to store all these things, and maybe look up some of his parents' old contacts, since he now had names and addresses.

But more importantly, right now he had to deal with Bikky; there was definitely something bothering the child. Since it was getting late, Bikky had gone to take his shower. Ryo pulled Dee aside and voiced his concerns, only to find them echoed in Dee. Dee was pretty exhausted, not having slept much the night before, and was feeling quite wrung out after all the events of the day So, after a short discussion, and with as much as they both regretted it, Dee gave him a quick but meaningful kiss good-night and left for his own apartment.

When Bikky finished with his shower, Ryo was waiting for him in the living room. Patting the sofa cushion next to him, Ryo said quietly, "Bikky, I think we need to talk. Come sit here with me, please."

Bikky quietly moved to the sofa and sat on the edge of the cushion, but did not look Ryo in the eye. "What's up?"

Ryo gently held Bikky's chin, turning his head to face him. "No, I think that's my line. Something is bothering you, and while I'm sure I know what it is, I want to hear it from you.'

Despite his 12 year-old pride, tears were trying to form in his eyes. A few quick blinks and a rushed hand across the face inadequately hid that fact. He had dropped his gaze from Ryo's face to the edge of the damp towel draped around his neck, and randomly started picking at the towel's hem. "Ah, it's nothin', really."

Seeing that Bikky was still not going to talk, Ryo slid off the couch and onto his knees in front of the boy. Again, raising Bikky's chin, he looked him in the eyes. "No, it is not nothing, it is something, and a big something. What you saw in that room made you feel different, didn't it? Made you feel out of place?"

Not feeling strong enough to speak, Bikky reluctantly nodded.

"Why, Bikky? You haven't changed, neither have I. I still love you for who you are, you know that will never change. I don't care where you came from. The money and those pieces of artwork don't make me a different person now. It's just as confusing to me as it is to you. That's why I'm setting up the scholarship fund. I want to use it for others that need it more than I do, You understand that, don't you?"

"I understand the scholarships bit. But the art stuff – only rich people own stuff like that. And rich people don't like us poor people. 'Specially us mutt ghetto kids – they think we're all thieves. You're from a whole different world, aren't you? How am I 'spozed to fit into that kind of life?"

The last statement shocked Ryo to the core. His heart ached at the suggested meaning in those words, and searched for an answer that Bikky would accept.

"Do you remember when we first met? I do. I didn't see a ghetto child. I saw a child in pain, all alone, needing comfort and a shoulder to cry on. Where you lived, how you grew up, it didn't matter to me. It still doesn't; that's all in the past. What matters is here and now; and despite your antics to prove different, you're a good kid, with a good heart, and that is what I see and love."

Bikky shifted uncomfortably, not meeting Ryo's gaze. Ryo's last statement had touched his heart, causing a rare blush to highlight his tan face. Ryo moved back to the sofa while Bikky composed himself.

"Right now I will admit that I don't know what I want to do with the treasures I inherited. I haven't had time to think about that. But, should I want to reenter the life my parents' led, I will not be ashamed to bring you along with me. You'll fit just fine, so don't be so negative. Maybe I could even teach you a little about the art field."

Bikky looked at Ryo in horror. "No way! Basketball jocks don't do stuff like that! That's for losers and geeks ...."

Bikky quickly realized what he had said and clapped his hand over his mouth. Trying to smooth over the effect of his words he sputtered, "Not that I think you're a loser. Or a geek. You're cool. It's those other guys, like in the malls...."

Bikky's poor coverup of his ill-spoken words was drowned out by Ryo's laughter. "Don't worry about it. I know what you mean. They called me a geek in school because I preferred to work in my parents' shop rather than hang out and do nothing with my fellow classmates on the weekends. I'd forgotten all about that until you said the word 'geek'." Ryo's face reflected memories of a time long past.

Ryo suddenly turned serious. "Are you feeling better now, knowing I'm not going to drag you off to art exhibit openings, dressed in a tux? Or take you to boring high society dinner parties? That things won't change overnight, if ever?"

Bikky smiled, then gave Ryo a big hug. "Yeah. Thanks."

"That's good. You want to watch a movie? I can make some popcorn and hot cocoa."

"Can I pick the movie?"

Ryo smiled at his son, knowing another crisis had been successfully smoothed. "Sure."

**December 27**

Even with Christmas vacation and all the strange happenings of the past few days, there were normal, everyday chores to be done. Floors didn't clean themselves. Laundry didn't just appear folded on the bed, although at times Bikky thought it did. After two weeks of Christmas preparations and activities, the cupboards were getting bare. Since groceries didn't magically fill the cabinets either, shopping was at the top of the list for the day. Aunt Elena would be here in a few days and Ryo needed something for a suitable dinner.

Bikky uncharacteristically offered to help, and together the two of them restocked the kitchen cabinets. A few odd things managed to find their way into the shopping cart, and of course none of them were vegetables, but this time Ryo didn't mind. Bikky was taking an interest, and that was all that mattered. He had gotten through to him that he was a very special person in Ryo's life, and that he would always be a most important part of Ryo's family.

After helping to put away the groceries and eat lunch, Bikky left to go get Carol. Ryo had promised to go through the album with them, showing them the people even he didn't know from his past. Bikky was getting excited about this. Family was one thing he had never had. And now it was something he didn't ever want to lose. It felt good.

While waiting for the kids to return, Ryo once again opened his father's suitcase, wanting to retrieve the packet that contained the provenances for all the items he had inherited. He also found a list of contacts in the back of his father's date book, an item he had overlooked when he first went through the suitcase. Between both items, there were many names and addresses to copy to his computer for future use. A few were fairly local, at most a few hours driving distance, very near the town where he grew up. He would have to check them out, see if any of the people listed were still in the business.

His hometown. He hadn't been back since that bleak Christmas. His aunt had retrieved his personal belongings and handled transferring him from his high school to the one in her town. He had never wanted to go back, not even to visit with old school friends. Even now, there was little interest in going back. Someday, maybe, but not now, not yet. Maybe not ever. It still hurt.

Ryo had just finished moving all the boxes from the table to the floor when the kids returned. While the kids polished off a snack, in the kitchen, of course, he retrieved the precious album from the bedroom. Carefully placing the album on the dining room table, and with Carol on his left and Bikky on his right, he began going through the album once again.

The album started with a copy of his birth certificate, complete with a set of tiny footprints next to his mother's thumbprint on the bottom. There were no embarrassing 'nude on a fur rug' photos, just pictures of a child growing up. There were photos from several vacations to a lake cabin, interesting places he visited with his parents, playground scenes with childhood friends, many quiet moments secretly taken, graduation pictures from each school. Except high school, that wasn't possible. He wondered if Aunt Elena even had any. That last year was a blur.

Some of the pictures he had seen before, but really only a few. Although they had kept a family album, they didn't regularly go through it. There was one set of pictures that had surprised him; they were from when he was less than a year old. His parents were holding him between them, and in the background was Mount Fuji. Other pictures showed him in the arms of various other relatives on his mother's side. They had taken him to Japan to meet with his mother's family. He remembered them mentioning it, but he hadn't known that there were pictures taken during the visit.

Dee arrived just as Ryo was getting to the last section of the album, the one that hurt the most to view. The photos here were the last ever taken of his parents when they were alive. The scenery was either Japanese or the Scottish highlands. Dee stood behind Ryo, placing his hands on Ryo's shoulders for comfort, as Ryo shakily described the images to his current family. It was all still too fresh in his memory to keep his emotions fully under control, but Carol and Bikky seemed to understand and didn't question the long pauses between pages.

When he had finally reached the end of the album and turned to the last page, the one with all the names, the kids were surprised. So many people had assisted in creating this family album, now really a memorial to Ryo's parents. Neither one of them could even fathom having that many relatives.

Sensing that Ryo was still shaken from viewing the album, Dee offered to take them all out to dinner, on him. This prompted cries of, 'HE'S POD PEOPLE!', 'Aliens!!, and 'what did you do with Dee's body?' from the kids, to which Dee just had to respond and play the evil alien for them. Their silliness was contagious, and lightened Ryo's mood considerably, even coaxing him into the madcap humor. They all left laughing, heading for their favorite Italian restaurant to order a Sicilian pie with 'da works'.

Dinner stretched to over an hour, but it didn't matter. All of them were known to the owner, and he appreciated seeing his favorite detectives enjoying themselves. Alphonse had even come to the table to wish them all a happy holiday, sitting with them for a few minutes and catching up on the latest happenings with his friends.

Ryo noticed that Dee seemed very tired, probably he hadn't caught up on all the sleep he'd missed in the past few days. Even he still felt worn out, and he had gotten his normal amount of sleep last night. Although he really would like to spend some private time with Dee, he didn't think that either one of them was up to the challenge. And Bikky would be home tonight, making it even less likely they could enjoy each other as they would like to. Ryo sighed inwardly. Dee was yawning again.

Everything he had envisioned for the two of them over the holidays had turned to dust. So much had happened, and even though they had that one impromptu interlude, he hadn't had time to plan how to get Dee alone, much less how to arrange his romantic plans. He'd have to work on that – tomorrow.

 


	4. Changes in the Wind

## December 28th

Ryo’s mind was finally absorbing the immense amount of data that had been channeled into it over the past few days. Feelings of guilt were growing for being off work at such a busy time of year, so he decided to visit the precinct and let his coworkers know the basic details of what had happened, and even offer some help if they were too bogged down. And he needed to thank the commissioner for all he did to bring all this about. If the CI Unit wasn't too busy, a whole lot of the questions that had surfaced after analyzing the data he had obtained from Leo could be answered easier using the station’s computing system. And a few answers would only be found by using private police channels.

Seeing that the lights were off as he passed the Commissioner's office, Ryo noted that he would have to thank him later, especially for allowing Dee to accompany him in the Evidence Warehouse. Despite the Commissioner's lecherous feelings toward him, the man did have compassion for his men. He had seen Rose give extra time off and do other similar things for his officers when hardships surfaced in their lives. Rose would definitely go out of his way to ease workloads and make it easier for his officers to deal with an unexpected stress. Their jobs were difficult enough without additional problems, and knowing that the boss had your back in bad situations meant a lot.

As he walked down the hallway to the Laytner & MacLean office, he noticed that the door was open and the lights were on. Expecting to see one of the other teams using their office, he was quite surprised to find Dee working at his desk, deeply engrossed in something on the computer screen. He managed to get beside Dee before he even realized someone had entered the room, much less who it was.

Dee jumped as Ryo touched his shoulder. "Ryo, you scared me! What are you doing here? You should be out tracking down places to put your new-found wealth."

With a quick glance at the screen, Ryo replied, "The same thing you're doing here. Tracking down answers. I see you've gotten a head start on listing all the transactions Leo had with my family's business. Sure doesn't look like they were very astute businessmen, does it?"

Dee snickered. "Yeah, figured I could give you a head start on this. And you think this is bad? You should see what he took each of the brothers for. Leo sold them everything 'cept the Brooklyn Bridge, and I wouldn't doubt that he probably thought about it. Seems your grandfather ran the real estate business with his 3 brothers. He finally wised up after those three lost most, if not all, of the family money to Leo's schemes. I think Leo was in the wrong business. He would have made a great scam artist. Or a lawyer. He sure knew how to pluck a pigeon."

Dee switched screens and Ryo's eyes scanned the new screen, stopping on one particular block. He whistled, "He got them for a half mil on that one exchange alone. And it was legit! Unethical, but legal. I'm glad Leo set this up so we could see these transactions, otherwise I wouldn't have believed it."

The two men spent the next half hour checking a few of the transactions, cross referencing the dates and amounts between the participating companies, and everything was totally by the book. Leo hadn't lied - it was perfectly legal – and Ryo's relatives were perfectly stupid.

Ryo wanted to print out a full hard copy of the transactions, and Dee also thought that it was a good idea. He left Dee printing volumes of paper while he went to visit the other detective teams that were in the building. He also wanted to  visit with the Chief, if he was around.

Surprisingly, things were quite calm in the station. JJ was taking a late lunch, so Ryo sat and talked with Drake and Ted for a while, filling them in on the strange happenings since Christmas Eve. Both kidded with him about having a mobster sugar-daddy, which led to a slew of rude jokes, some even causing a hint of a blush to tint Ryo's face. Then there were the jokes about leaving the force and living the life of the rich and famous. Ryo explained quite emphatically that the money was earmarked for educations of children who had no other way to continue their schooling.

He then checked in with the Chief, wishing him a Happy New Year. The Chief had heard some of the details of Ryo's recent windfall from the Commissioner, but Ryo was able to fill him in on the finer details. He also let him know that Dee was doing some unofficial searching in the office as they spoke, and hoped that he wouldn't mind the use of Police Property for personal business.

The Chief waved it off as minor, but stated that he was quite impressed that Dee had come in on his own to do this for someone else. But, on second thought, it was for Ryo, and Dee would do almost anything for Ryo. He knew in his heart that it was just a matter of time before the two finally got together as a couple, if they hadn't already.

Having talked with those who were around the station, Ryo decided to let Dee know that he was leaving for home, and to ask Dee to bring dinner along with the printouts. As he approached the door to their office, he heard laughter from inside the room. As he got closer, he recognized JJ's voice, along with Dee's. Something was amusing the two of them.

The scene as he entered the room was innocent enough, but for some reason it felt wrong to Ryo. JJ was leaning with his back to the desk, beside Dee. Dee had swiveled around in the chair, his legs stretched out with his ankles crossed, his thigh was just brushing JJ's knees. Dee's hands were folded across his stomach, his elbows resting on the arms of the chair. His hair had fallen forward, and as usual was looking roguishly handsome. JJ was leaning forward, just about to touch Dee when Ryo asked, "Is this a private party or can anyone join?"

JJ spun around, happily replying, "Oh, Ryo! Merry Christmas! Congratulations on your recent inheritance. And sure, please join us."

Ryo wasn't sure if there was surprise in Dee's face, but JJ looked like a cat being interrupted while his paw was in the bird cage. Although he trusted Dee, there were times that he did some rather stupid things, and usually JJ was involved somehow. It didn't seem to register in Dee's mind that JJ was still very seriously chasing him, not just being a nuisance.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with JJ, Ryo reminded Dee to pick up some dinner for them. This clued JJ to leave, which he did quite quickly. Ryo stayed a bit longer, then, on impulse, gave Dee a loving caress and an extremely sensuous kiss, leaving Dee confused but happy.

Once home, he made himself a cup of tea before settling at the dining room table. He started to think about what had transpired over the past few days, and even further back, over the past few months. Since Leo died, Ryo hadn't had time to think about his chosen career – his main concern had been his new relationship with Dee, and all its ramifications.

After he finally gave in to his desire to belong with Dee, his mind had concentrated solely on that new facet of his future. There were changes that he had to accept, changes he still needed to make, and he was starting to feel much more at ease with those changes. In fact, after this afternoon, there were a few 'changes' he needed to try out and a confession or two to make. It was past time to show Dee that he wasn't the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve. And a few surprises.

But right now he had another change to deal with – a branch in his career road.

Originally, he had become a law enforcement officer to capture and bring to justice those persons that had killed his parents, but now that goal was complete. All that was in the past, a closed door. No loose ends, even Bruno was dead, with his daughter Alicia firmly controlling the family, holding the reins with an iron fist. After Leo's death, Ryo and Alicia had swapped a few minor favors but now they were even, back to being opposing forces: mob leader and ace detective.

Only now, since that specific door had closed, another unexpected door had opened. Ryo now had been given a tantalizing peek at the future he had expected to live. A peek that still held a very strong attraction for him.

What should he do? Although it had never been a considered choice for a career as he went through high school, he couldn't say that being a successful detective in a large city wasn't of interest to him. Being one of the top ranking snipers kept that interest at an even keel; the severity of that title wouldn't allow any delusions to swell his head.

He enjoyed the intellectual satisfaction of unraveling and solving some of the more intricate cases they had handled, of meting out justice to those that truly deserved it. True, some of the details were a bit disturbing mentally, and you definitely didn't always win, but there was usually someone that benefited from at least the attempt to bring the case to a successful end. And once he had come to the 2-7, he found Dee to be the perfect partner, now in more ways than one.

He glanced at the boxes, stacked neatly in the corner of the dining room. There was a future in those boxes too. Just handling those art pieces had fanned the embers of that lost future. Just seeing the paintings brought back wonderful memories of going through the new-found treasures his parents had always returned with; resurfaced the thrill he felt when he would work with them in the shop, as he helped them set things up to display everything to its best advantage.

He had intended to major in art, ancient Chinese in general, from Tang to Ming dynasties in particular, and to follow his parents in the trade. So, while getting the necessary degree to attend the Police Academy, he had taken as many of the Asian Art and Civilization courses as he could. It was an interest that he couldn't relinquish, an interest that was in his blood. All those years of helping his parents in the art gallery couldn't be eradicated so easily.

Taking another sip of his tea brought him back to the present. The tea was cold – he had been sitting, lost in thought, for almost an hour. But now the thoughts were becoming circular. His mind was just going 'round and 'round, coming back to the original thought … _'what should I do?'_. Time to stop thinking and let it simmer for a while. And he had some adjustments to make in the bedroom before Dee arrived with dinner.

#=#=#=#=#

After placing the album on the dining room table, Ryo brought in his laptop and copied all the names and addresses into a new spreadsheet called 'My Family'. He had over 70 names. Some of the people weren't actually family, but he knew they were close enough family friends to be considered as such. There was a bit of letter writing he needed to do, and so many years to catch up on. The first one needed to be a stock letter, detailing why the delay in replying to them, filling in the details they probably never knew. But first he'd start by trying to find out if any of the people in the book were still accessible online.

Dee came over around 7 bearing dinner – several bags containing Chinese takeout. He also had nearly a full ream of paper containing all the printouts of the financial dealings that Leo had done with Ryo's relatives. Ryo appreciated the break, removing his reading glasses and rubbing his eyes. He had been at this for several hours, chasing names across the internet. Ryo moved the album back to the bedroom before he allowed even one wrapped fortune cookie to be removed from the bag.

While Ryo was returning the album to its place of honor Dee had set up the food, and he was already scanning through what Ryo had found so far as 'possibles' on the friendly side of his family when Ryo returned. It was quite a list to go through.

Between stuffing bites of egg roll into his mouth, Dee asked, "Where's Goldilocks? I thought for sure I would've been attacked as soon as I came through the door. I even got double pot-stickers so I could have a few!"

"Hey, don't get grease on my computer! And Bik's over Carol's. She got a new gaming system for Christmas, and what he calls 'really cool' games. I have a feeling I wouldn't approve of them so I didn't ask for titles."

Dee sighed. The kid would probably be back around 10, 11 the latest. Maybe he could get something started with Ryo before then. And unfortunately finished too. If Ryo didn't care so much for Bikky.... Dee cared about him too, but Bikky was just going to have to accept that his father had an alternative life style with Dee, and that his attitude about said lifestyle was putting a major crimp in it. _Oh well, a quickie's better than nothing at this point. Maybe I'll just lay him out under the tree and watch the lights twinkle in his dark eyes_ ….

Ryo grabbed a container of fried rice and pulled a chair over to sit next to Dee. "I've managed to find some possible matches to the names and addresses, maybe a total of 20 people from the list of the people I need to find, most of them from Scotland. Of those who originally listed email addresses, only two are working – the rest bounced. But both of them are in Scotland. I've already sent them a, 'Hi, are you my relative? email.'

Pointing to his spreadsheet list, Ryo continued. "Somehow, rural Scotland doesn't strike me as being in need of a highly technical society. The area where my family hails from is costal, mainly large islands on the western side, the ones that face the harsh North Atlantic. You can see from the pictures in the album that it's a lot more stark and desolate than most parts of Japan."

Ryo reached over and swapped for another container before continuing. "Many of the sites I found as 'possibles' for my mother's side are mainly in Japanese, so they aren't going to be much help I never knew much Japanese, and what I did know is too rusty to be of any use. Plus, the Japanese have a more limited list of family names than other cultures, though more than Scotland, but a whole lot more people live in Japan. I had over 300 hits for the one name alone. But once I find someone that says they are related, they're gonna have to help me search. I just hope they know Japanese!"

Dee laughed as he grabbed the container with the pot stickers, unconsciously holding it close to his body, as if to protect it from poachers. "That would be your luck; to find a Japanese relative that doesn't speak the language. Maybe Aunt Elena can help you with some of them? She might know one or two of them."

"Yeah, I intend to ask her when she visits on Saturday, but I doubt she'll be any help with my Mom's side. As far as I know she never met any of them. Maybe when I check out my parents' old contacts one of them will know somebody from Japan." Ryo purposely leaned over and skewered two pot stickers from the box Dee was so covetously holding, earning a fake death glare from Dee. He returned the look with a satisfied smirk as he downed the first one.

They continued to discuss what to say and ask while they finished their dinner. After clearing an area on the table they took a second look at the MacLean financial records Dee had printed out. It was scary as to how much money they lost to Leo's scams. And even scarier was how fast they lost it.

"You can't argue with the figures. You're one rich man, dude, due to your family's stupidity. It only took a little over three years to bring them down. They lost millions! Leo had led the brothers to the point of bankruptcy before your granddad booted them out of the business.'

Dee put down the Chinese box, now empty of any pot stickers. 'Oh, and I did a check on your granddad's current finances. He still hasn't fully recovered to the point he was before Leo started 'collecting' your inheritance. Do you even know where your grandfather's brothers are now? There is no mention of them in any other real estate businesses once he kicked them out."

"First, correction – it's the MacLean Education Fund that is well-to-do. And as to the uncles, I have no idea. Aunt Elena might know, but I don't think she cared much for anyone in the family, other than my parents, of course. I'll ask her if she knows anything about them. In fact, I should start making a list of the things I want to ask her. Every question I get an answer to seems to raise three more. I never had any interest in my family, so everything here is new to me."

Ryo had gotten up, stretched, and now stood behind Dee, looking at the printout Dee held in his hand. He leaned over Dee's shoulder, pointing out a series of transactions. "Look at that – he got each one of them on the same scam, all within weeks of each other. There sure wasn't any communication between them."

But while he was leaning over Dee, his other hand had managed to slide down and undo a few buttons on Dee's shirt, creating an opening where his hand could conveniently enter and explore.

Ryo's actions came as a surprise to Dee. Usually he started things off, but it looked like Ryo was definitely in the mood to instigate a little playtime. Right now he was nibbling on his earlobe and tweaking his one nipple. Dee caught his breath and asked, "How much time do we have? When's Biks coming back?"

Ryo got all wide-eyed and innocent looking, and smiled at Dee. "Oh, didn't I mention that he'd be staying overnight? I must have forgotten, so sorry. " The innocence rapidly melted away to leave the most lecherous look Dee had ever seen on Ryo's face, and he was surprised at how good it looked.

Ryo's eyes smoldered as he whispered, "I haven't tried on the outfit you bought me for Christmas yet. I think this is as good a time as any, don't you? Want to watch? We haven't played that game for a while. No touching though, remember?"

Dee's heart raced as he stood to follow Ryo. "For how long can't I touch? I'm warning you, I can't guarantee more than 2 minutes.' Despite the whine in Dee's voice, there was undisguised desire underlying the two statements. "And I'm still waiting for that paint job you promised me for Christmas Eve. We never did get to that."

Ryo turned to Dee as they entered the bedroom. "Mmm, yes, the chocolate. That would be a nice dessert after the Chinese. Well, it's your choice. I'm willing to do either. So do you want the outfit or the chocolate? I don't want to do both and chance ruining the new outfit. And if you're having difficulties keeping your hands to yourself...."

Dee snickered as they entered the bedroom; he had immediately noticed that the older sheets and comforter were on the bed. The chocolate had been Ryo's choice all along. "I think I definitely prefer the chocolate. Because personally, I'd rather like to handle any of your wardrobe malfunctions by myself."

#=#=#=#=#

Once they hit the bed, they slowly stripped each other, taking time to enjoy each other's finer points. Good-natured teasing, tweaking, and tickling accompanied the removal of each article of clothing. After the stripping was completed, it was time for the fun and games to begin. Ryo seductively stretched across Dee's body to open the night stand drawer, which earned him a friendly grope from Dee.

"No, no! Just wait a minute – hands off! I've got to get the chocolate. Do you want plain chocolate or strawberry chocolate?" But just to tease, he gave a slight butt wiggle.

Dee looked at Ryo's ass, reaching over and giving it another squeeze. "I have a choice? Hmmm. Well, I know that you like strawberry, so let's go with that. This is your show."

Before Dee could advance his explorations of the gorgeous sight in front of him, Ryo had already moved back and opened the container. From the container he pulled out two jars of chocolate; one strawberry flavored and one dark chocolate. Ryo had that lecherous look in his eyes again as he handed Dee the chocolate jar.

"Naughty, naughty, Ryo. Let me guess, Finger paints 101?" And we each get a jar? Dee glanced at his jar. "Oh, you got me the dark chocolate – my favorite!" His eyes took in the naked form of his lover. "Now, where shall I start?"

"Start at the top and work down?"

The two men had reverted to little kids in no time at all, drawing dirty pictures and scribbling dirty words on each other, then licking them off to replace them with even dirtier ones.

"Mmm, you look good in pink.", murmured Ryo, licking the latest word off of Dee's chest. "Let's see, what's next? I know...." Ryo moved down in the bed to attack Dee's inner thigh.

"What are you writing down there? It tickles."

"Property of Ryo."

"Two can play that game," and when Dee's turn came, he deftly flipped Ryo on his stomach and wrote 'MINE' across his ass. But when it came time to clear the slate, so to speak, his tongue dipped dangerously into Ryo's crevice and explored the area in great detail, causing a gasp of surprise from him.

After Dee was done, Ryo twisted on his side and looked at Dee. "That was sneaky. Now it my turn." Grabbing his chocolate he proceeded to candy stripe Dee's privates.

Ryo had begun to lick the chocolate off Dee's cock, starting with the sensitive underside. At the same time he was massaging Dee's ass, slowly working downward to the anus.

Dee had experienced many sensations before, but nothing could have prepared him for the sensations he was about to feel. Just as Ryo's fingers finally reached and began to tease the anus, Ryo had taken Dee's ball sac into his mouth and was treating each testicle to a massaging bath with his tongue.

Dee's leg muscles involuntarily tensed, wanting to curl his body into a ball. But Ryo held Dee's legs down with his body, continuing the movement within the anus and sucking a bit harder on his balls, moving alternately between each, favoring neither. The cries from Dee were laced with such erotic emotion that Ryo felt very close to losing it on his own. With one last suck, he released Dee's sac, blew lightly across the moist area, then moved back to watch Dee.

Ryo smiled with smug satisfaction of a job well done as Dee moaned on the bed. "Do you want me, Dee? Are you ready for me? I know that I'm ready for you." His eyes were filled with erotic emotions, and he was now teasing Dee's cock with his fingertips, causing him to thrust into Ryo's reach. He kept teasing Dee just enough to push him to the edge.

And indeed, Dee had just about reached the end of his patience. He grabbed Ryo, roughly pulling him downward, going straight for the neck, nipping and sucking, then to Ryo's nipples, pulling and teasing. One arm held Ryo's body as he turned him onto his back, while his hand had searched out Ryo's own entrance, to prepare him for entry. Dee felt Ryo fingers tighten on his body and he arched further into his grasp. Together their voices joined in a lustful chorus of moans and gasps. Dee felt he had prepared him enough, and couldn't hold off much longer.

The lovemaking had gone from sweet and sincere to harsh and animalistic in the blink of an eye. Both men were being less than gentle with each other: the love nips were now leaving teeth marks, the fingernails were leaving scratches, and the fingers, bruises. Neither seemed to notice; both were lost in the heated fervor of the moment.

Dee forced Ryo's legs apart and raised his hips slightly. No further attempt was made to prepare his lover before he thrust himself into Ryo, eliciting a lustful moan.

Ryo's arms embraced Dee, his fingers digging into Dee's flesh, his teeth sinking into his right shoulder. As the pain registered, Dee responded vocally and began moving again, pressing hard and fast into Ryo, who now issued his own erotic cry in return. Soon all that was heard were sensuous grunts and groans, and the carnal sounds of skin slapping against skin. The air was heavily laced with all the scents of sex. As the tempo increased, breathing became hitched and irregular, the moans became gasps for breath…

… all heightened to the final crescendo...

      ...and then...

           ...just heavy breathing amid the silence.

How long they lay together, still joined, neither could say, each stroking the other's body with soft, loving touches, completely opposite the previous moments. Licks and kisses were being placed over the marks left minutes before.

Finally Dee raised himself up, kissed Ryo softly on the lips, and smiled. He carefully extracted himself and left the bed.

Ryo bolted from the bed before Dee could get any further away than six feet. He quickly grabbed Dee from behind, his hands grasping Dee’s arms at the elbows, pulling him back against his body. Pressing his erect cock against Dee's ass, he asked in a low, sultry voice, "Where do you think you're going? I'm not done with you yet."

_What's this? What's Ryo doing?_ The strength flowing from Ryo into the hold on his arms bordered on painful. Turning his head to look at Ryo, he noticed that Ryo's eyes held that same animalistic lust that had only shown up this evening. This was something new, and very much a turn-on. He could feel his cock rising again just from the tone in Ryo's voice and the familiar presence pressing against him from behind.

Confused as to what to say, Dee stammered, "I – I was just going to get a...."

Ignoring Dee's comments, Ryo let go of his arms and briskly spun Dee around and began roughly kissing him, forcing him to accept the violation of his mouth. Ryo’s one hand had clenched in Dee’s hair, while the other kneaded his ass.

Dee was getting lost again in his emotions. Of all the lovers he'd ever had, not one had ever tried to dominate him like this – he just didn't allow it. But this was Ryo, and if he had decided to try to dominate him, could he refuse? Dee would do anything for him, and he would allow his lover to do whatever he wanted with him.

Breaking the kiss, Ryo reached down to grab Dee's cock tightly. "See this? Even this is ready for another round. I want you back in the bed with me, right now."

Those words caused a tremor of excitement to run through Dee's body, enforcing the arousal.

Still holding Dee by the cock, Ryo pulled him toward the bed, then forcefully pushed him onto the bed. On all fours, he hovered over Dee while staring into his emerald eyes, his own dark eyes unreadable. Then, very gently, Ryo's hands caressed Dee's face.

"You are drop-dead gorgeous, you know that?" Ryo's eyes focused on Dee's body, allowing his fingers to trail down across his shoulders as he settled back to rest on Dee's thighs. His hands were still wandering across this alluring body beneath him, examining every fresh bite mark, every muscle, every little scar they touched.

Dee watched in awe at the changes on Ryo's face with each movement. He moved his own hands to Ryo's thighs, slowly caressing them in small, gentle strokes. He felt Ryo acknowledge the touches through a slight tensing in his fingers.

Ryo's exploration had now reached that tantalizing area where legs become a groin. Seductively running his fingertips along this erotic line, he felt Dee stiffen and press upward against him. Ryo closed his eyes and, with both his hands, pressed their cocks together, then gently massaged and stroked the rock hard flesh. He both heard and felt Dee's quick intake of breath; it vibrated through every inch of contact they had.

Ryo succumbed to the feelings and started to slowly rock with the motions, causing Dee to moan. He opened his eyes and watched the pleasured look on Dee's face as he continued caressing and moving. Dee, too, had started reacting to the massaging strokes.

"I want you."

Dee opened his eyes, which were still reflecting the extreme pleasure his lover was giving him. He could see an undeniable seriousness in Ryo's countenance that emphasized the truth of that short statement, and exactly what it meant. This man loved him, and wanted to prove it to him in the most intimate way he knew.

Dee reached up and pulled Ryo down for a very gentle kiss, causing Ryo to break contact with their straining members. "I'm yours."

Ryo sat up, smiling, his hands resting on Dee's shoulders. "I was attracted to you from the start, despite my actions to the contrary. Even during that first year, there were times that I just wanted to push you down and have sex with you. Even at work. Does that surprise you? That I have the same fantasies as you do? Do you know how hard it is for me to act 'normal', having you within reach? Do you realize how difficult it is to be the straight-laced Randy MacLean when JJ has his hands all over you? Do you understand how demeaning it is to be known as what JJ calls 'sexless Ryo'?"

Ryo's eyes seemed to flair with the last comment, and his fingers tightened their hold. "I am NOT sexless. Not by any stretch of the imagination. My libido is strong and healthy. I'm just as horny as the next guy, even more so when you're around. I'm not going to be totally passive anymore. I've wanted to do this for some time now. I can go head to head with you, Dee, I can meet you on every level. I can let you fuck me, or I can fuck you. It doesn't matter to me any more. I've accepted that I am the way I am, and that you are what I want. And I'll take you any way I can get you."

Dee was entranced by the change in Ryo. Ryo had never exhibited any serious desire for a domineering role since they became 'partners'. He never imagined Ryo could be like this; and surprisingly it excited him. He'd almost swear Ryo was drunk or drugged, but he knew better. But he had to admit to a tinge of fear mixed in with the excitement. It was a known fact that Ryo was as strong as he was, and in this new, unknown state, he wasn't sure what kind of hold Ryo had on his actions, especially after that escort back to the bed.

"Ryo...." was all Dee could utter before he was descended upon, Ryo once again forcing his tongue into Dee's mouth, searching desperately for a reaction, which was quickly given. Ryo's one hand was prepping Dee, while the other knotted in his hair. All Dee could manage to do was to cling tightly to this man who was claiming him, preparing him for entry.

Both men were once again raising each other's sexual awareness to the highest levels when Ryo suddenly broke the hold and sat back.

Again, in that lustful, sultry voice, Ryo commanded, "Get on your knees and turn around."

With the state of arousal that Dee was in, all he could manage to reply was a throaty, barely audible, "yes" and do as he was told. Putting his back to Ryo, he awaited Ryo's next move.

Ryo settled behind Dee, pressing himself tightly against him. His arm moved forward, his hand grabbed Dee's cock and balls in a firm grip. His teeth were nipping his earlobe and neck between licks to his shoulders. He rasped in Dee's ear, "This is mine, understand? No one else can have you. No one."

Dee couldn't form an audible answer. Between Ryo's hold on his body and his sexy voice in his ear, spikes of erotic reactions were racing throughout his body. All he could do was faintly nod in agreement, and wait for the pleasure to begin.

Ryo shifted slightly, his breath hot on the back of Dee's neck. "Let me in.'

Dee was in an intoxicating overload of sexual and emotional stimulation. Although Ryo had started off slow and cautious, he was now ramping up the pace at a rapid rate. The pain had long since ebbed; Dee had never felt like this. He had never allowed this type of domination with anyone, nor had he ever desired or dreamed of being dominated like this. But this was Ryo ... his Ryo ... doing this to him ... possessing his body ... loving and using him like this ... oh, sweet heaven on earth!

After too short a time, and in a blinding white flash he erupted, crying out Ryo's name as he came, in harmony with Ryo's cry of 'Dee'. Both had climaxed at the same time; Ryo had seen to that. Dee knew that through deft manipulation Ryo had controlled the whole erotic episode, making the dual ejaculation more sensual than it normally would have been.

As he collapsed back against Ryo, unable to even move on his own, he could hear him whispering 'I love you' between the kisses and caresses. The last thing he remembered was Ryo pulling the covers over the two of them, cuddling close, and wrapping his arms possessively around his waist.


	5. The Awaited News

December 29th

Both Dee and Ryo awoke the next morning with aches and pains in places one normally didn't get aches and pains. Despite the mess they had made both on and in the bed last night, neither seemed in a hurry to leave it, both being content to just lie beside each other, their naked bodies barely touching.

But Ryo was being Ryo. Since he first woke up, he had been thinking about the evening before and what had transpired, mostly of his doing. Concern etched on his face, and knowing his partner was also awake, Ryo turned to face Dee, asking, "Any regrets about last night? I'm sorry that I got carried away and was so rough on you. I didn't mean to go that far, I just kinda, um, lost control there. I didn't hurt you too much, did I?"

Dee rolled on his side, wrapped one arm around Ryo's waist, and smiled. "No way in hell, so don't apologize. I'll admit that I was shocked and surprised, but pleasantly – and I enjoyed it – you were damned hot! You've taken me before, but never like that, with that strong a reaction ... what got into you?"

After a short pause and a mild blush, Ryo answered. "Don't laugh, jealousy. I'm not used to these feelings at all. It's been gnawing at the back of my mind for some time now, but when I saw you and JJ yesterday ... I just wanted to hit him, to grab him by the collar and drag him away from you. I wanted to pick him up bodily and throw him out of our office, just because he touched you. But I couldn't say anything or do anything; I had to be 'sexless Ryo' again."

"Ryo, love, that is the sexiest, most loving thing you've ever said to me. JJ had just come in to catch up on the holidays and see what was up with our Christmas schedule with Rose. You know I wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt you." Dee suddenly looked concerned, and ran a finger lightly over one seriously red welt on Ryo. "Um, speaking of hurt, how's your shoulder? Looks like I bit pretty hard there."

"I'm fine. You have a few nice 'battle wounds' too.' Ryo softly ran his fingers over an equally raw bite on Dee's neck. "It seems we both got a bit rough last night. I guess we're in turtlenecks all next week, hmm? We don't dare let Bikky see this, we'll both be in deep shit."

Dee laughed, "Yeah, I guess so. But you know, you should get dominant like that a bit more often." Dropping his voice to a more sultry tone he added, "So, do you wanna go another round, or do we draw straws for the shower? Loser has to change the bedding." His hand was already snaking beneath the covers, heading south.

Ryo raised himself up on one arm while the other blocked the route of that wayward hand. He turned toward Dee. "Dee, if you feel the way I feel, there is no way in hell you can go another round. " _But I know that's a lie – we're both hard right now._ "We're gonna be walking very carefully all day."

But Dee was not to be stopped. He had managed to gain purchase on Ryo, and the quick intake of breath from Ryo told Dee he had guessed correctly – Ryo was more than in the mood for some intensive fondling.

Dee watched as Ryo's eyes closed, his lips parted, and his respiration quickened. _So beautiful._ Dee had managed to wrap his other arm around Ryo's shoulders, pulling him closer and sensually assaulting his ears and neck. Ryo could deny his urges no longer, and his return stroking led the two of them into an impromptu, but totally satisfying, interlude.

"Admit it, Ryo, you love the sex." Dee purred as he continued to smother Ryo's neck and shoulders with kisses, slowly working them both toward the inevitable climax. All Ryo could manage in reply was a muffled moan as he pressed closer into Dee.

Both men were now winding down from the intense episode, still holding one another, and heedless of the mess now coating the fronts of their bodies. Even though he had thoroughly enjoyed the encounter, Ryo's thoughts were of how easily Dee thwarted his attempts to keep him at bay. But in all honesty, that may have been because he really didn't want to stop him.

Dee's thoughts, on the other hand, were of hot sex and Ryo, and how easy it was to get what he wanted, even when Ryo was in denial. Dee knew when to stop though; he would never force Ryo if he knew he really didn't feel up to it. He'd been in that don't touch me scenario with Ryo too many times in the previous two years. He didn't like it, but he knew sometimes it was inevitable.

Having finally calmed down enough to think rationally, Ryo poked Dee in the shoulder. "You, go hit the shower, I'll take care of the bed. You never get the sheets on quite right anyway. Oh, and since you'll be clean first, you get to make breakfast."

"OK, one Laytner Special, coming up!" Dee replied cheerily as he started to quickly leave the bed, only to slow down as certain muscles complained. Then, in almost a mumble, he added, "Oh, and you better check the drapes too. Last night, I think I mighta, um, hit them, maybe..."

Ryo sat upright in the bed, his best glare aimed directly at his lover. "You might have WHAT?"

"Aw, dammit Ryo, don't yell at me. When you wiggle around and say things and do things like you did to me last night, well I just can't keep it in control, not all the time. And it was all your fault anyway, holding me off like that…." He tried giving Ryo a 'pity me' look, only to wind up on the receiving end of a stern, reprimanding glare.

"Go take your shower."

Exhaling an exasperated sigh, Ryo slid out of the bed. But a smile quickly took over. The sex last night was extreme, raw, and exquisitely hot, each man both giving and taking to his limits.

After looking down at the floor between the bed and the window; he called to Dee, "Damn, you spilled the chocolate all over the floor. I think next time we should put it away before we, um, ah ... oh yeah..." Again Ryo's mind wandered back to the events of the previous evening, and he just couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Reeling his thoughts back in, he surveyed the rest of the damage. "You did miss the drapes, thankfully, but the rug and floor weren't spared, again. If you keep this up, I'm going to make you wear a condom!"

Dee had already collected his clean clothes and was heading toward the bathroom. He stopped dead in his tracks and paled at that remark. Turning back toward Ryo he gasping out, "You – you wouldn't, would you? I don't like them. They're evil! We don't need to worry about diseases…we're both clean…we can't get pregnant…and they take most of the fun out of sex…and **ALL** the spontaneity. I'd miss all your softness, your heat, your throbbing pulsations, the hot twitches ..." He actually had what looked to be the start of tears in his eyes.

Ryo could no longer hold the straight face, and let loose a chuckle. "No Dee, I wouldn't. But the threat was worth it to see that look on your face. You are such a pervert…."

"Takes one to know one", warbled Dee, as he turned and sashayed toward the bathroom, but with a very relieved look on his face.

On that point, Ryo had to agree with him. After last night they were most definitely on equal terms of perversion.

By the time Ryo had cleaned up the bedroom and showered, Dee had just finished making breakfast. Both had found that they had more work than expected.

They had definitely made a mess on Dee's side of the bed. Even the throw rug hadn't been spared a double chocolate coating. Ryo just rolled it up with the bedding, cans and all, not wanting to even think of the mess; he'd deal with that later. It would take some work, but he'd be able to get the chocolate out of the sheets and rug. But it really didn't matter – last night was worth it.

Dee wandered out of the bathroom and past the bedroom in just a t-shirt and sweat pants, his hair all askew from towel drying. He avoided asking Ryo how he was doing once he heard the muttering coming from floor-side in the bedroom. _What was that, something about lube under the bed? Chocolate everywhere? Oops! Guess we did make a mess in there. Ah, but it was fun making it!_

When he agreed to make breakfast, Dee had forgotten that they had never really cleaned up dinner. It took a bit of work to get it all cleared away, with most of it heading for the trash. What few dishes there were he put in the sink to soak; he'd finish them up with the breakfast dishes. Ryo's laptop had gone to sleep, so he just left it for Ryo to take care of – he wasn't about to be blamed for losing an important file.

Once he was finished in the dining room, Dee headed to the kitchen. After searching through the fridge he managed to find some Canadian bacon, which he added to the scrambled eggs and toast to make a nice meal. He had just set all the food out on the kitchen table when Ryo entered, hair still wet from the shower, and wrapped in his bathrobe. He hadn't gotten dressed yet.

Dee couldn't resist draping the towel he had used to carry the bacon plate over his arm, waiter style. "Ah, Monsieur MacLean dresses casual for breakfast this morning. This way sir, your table is ready."

Nodding a thank you, Ryo sat in the chair that Dee was holding out for him. "You're in a good mood this morning."

Leaning over Ryo's shoulder, Dee lightly kissed Ryo's neck. "Mainly because I was treated to a very enlightening experience last night. Someone gave me a very memorable evening, not to mention a fantastic wake-up call."

Ryo turned his head and smiled at Dee, giving him a more personalized kiss. "Hmm, now who could that have been?"

"I'm not really sure. Last night this perfect stranger decided to have his way with me, tore down all my defenses, and has left me wantonly desiring more."

Ryo laughed. "Sit down, breakfast is getting cold. We'll have to discuss this stranger." After filling his plate Ryo spoke up, his tone much more serious, "So you actually didn't mind? You did enjoy it?"

"Mind? No way, that was an unexpected and pleasant surprise." Dee pushed his scrambled eggs around his plate with a piece of toast, trying to figure out how to word his next question. "Did you mean what you said last night? You know, about having the same fantasies as me?"

Ryo looked at Dee, who wore a serious look on his face that was rarely seen. "Yes, I meant every word I said."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I don't know – fear maybe, or embarrassment. You have years of experience. This is all new to me, remember? I'm just having my sexual awakening at 30 years old. You've almost always been the one to be in control, and I've followed your lead. But it's been six months now, and I've had time to consider how and what I feel. And with all that's happened in the past few days I felt it was past time to act on some of those decisions that I've reluctantly held back on, and to let you know exactly where I stand."

Ryo glanced toward Dee, a slight blush on his face ."I only seem to get brave when we're having sex, so I thought that putting my feelings into action might be the best way to show you. I think I got my point across successfully, right?"

With sheer happiness in his eyes, Dee studied Ryo's face. "After all that you said last night, after all that you did – you have the audacity to sit there and blush? Please, please say that you'll never change. That blush is one of the most important things I love about you."

Dee left around noon, stating he was going to the precinct to help out. He also promised not to let JJ get him alone, although he did hint if last night was the kind of treatment he could expect for allowing JJ to get close, he just might let him sit on his lap. He just barely made it out the door before a barrage of sofa pillows hit the doorway.

Ryo hadn't spoken with his aunt since Christmas morning, so she only knew about the funds that had been left to him. He had debated whether he should let her know about the objects d'art, but decided to wait and surprise her. She hadn't said if Rick would be able to come with her, and he wanted to know if he was available to join them. He had a favor to ask, and definitely wanted his uncle to be included in the discussion since what he wanted would involve both of them.

The phone call was short. Yes, Rick was available to come along. She had asked why, and Ryo sensed that she knew there was an alternative reason for the question, other than just getting family together. All he told her was that she would find out tomorrow, and that it was a good surprise. After getting the train arrival time, they agreed on where he would meet them, so they needn't worry about finding a cab that time of day.

December 30th

Elena and Rick arrived around 10:30. Ryo met them at the train station and after a warm, heartfelt reunion with the two of them, he promptly escorted them to his waiting car.

Elena was a very good looking woman who looked years younger than her actual age. All the decades of traveling around the world hadn't left a mark on her. In fact, it may have helped keep her young. Rick, too, was deceptively youthful, even with his five years seniority on his wife.

They had worked together all their adult lives in photography; she in taking the pictures, he in handling the lighting and equipment setup. Both shared the work in the darkroom, developing and printing the award-winning photographs, working together as an exceptional team. They now freelanced for major magazines, still drawing a high price for their work, but now they had begun to consider retirement, and had shifted to being only part-time.

Their focus had been with the professional modeling houses, working the fashion shows and creating advertising images. Their hall and study walls were covered with awards and plaques, each a testament to the excellent work they had produced. The ArtyM Studio was well known in the photography business, and considered first class all the way.

Knowing that the ride to Ryo's place would take at least a half hour this time of day, Elena decided to use the time to ask about the trust fund. Ryo filled the two of them in on how much had been done so far. Mother Lane would be the main executor of the Fund, while he and Dee would be the main overseers. Bikky would be added when he was of age, being Ryo's adopted son.

Ryo also let them know that he felt Leo had chosen wisely in selecting Greater Manhattan Associates, and that he had left the funds with them. Their reputation was beyond reproach, no one could even think of calling them mob associated.

Both Rick and Elena knew of the Association's sterling reputation, and agreed he couldn't have a better firm backing up his foundation. Elena then added, "You have something else to tell us, don't you?"

Ryo chuckled. "You always were a sharp one, Aunt Elena. I bet you couldn't hide much from her, could you, Uncle Rick?" He heard a soft laugh from the back seat as a reply. "Wait until we get to my place. You are going to be shocked. I thought Leo's gift was unbelievable, but there was a second part that topped it." Ryo then switched the topic to how they were doing, and asked Uncle Rick what he was up to lately. He knew that they were easing into a semi-retirement, but that was all.

As they entered the apartment, Ryo took their coats and hung them in the closet. His Aunt had wandered down the hall, then suddenly stopped in front of the dining room archway. Rick has stopped behind her, equally shocked by what was displayed in front of them.

Before he had left to pick them up, Ryo had set out some of the treasures he had inherited on the buffet and server, and had placed several of the paintings on the chairs along the wall. The table was clear except for a single silver box. The dining room looked like a small exhibition room in an art gallery or museum, with the chandelier illuminating the silver box with an air of importance.

Neither had moved from the doorway when Ryo came up behind them. "Fascinating, isn't it. Leo had made sure all the loose ends were tied up so this could be released to me. Without his assistance, these would have sat in the warehouse forever. These are some of the items my parents purchased on that last trip – I have more. I have all the provinces, and it amounts to a small fortune.

By now both Elena and Rick had moved into the room, carefully examining the items on display. They knew the value of the items without being told. Semi-precious stones and gold aren't easy to disguise, and there was plenty of each here. The brass items had intricate detail that couldn't be molded; it was hand carved with precise detail. The paintings were done in the era they depicted, and they were at least from a century gone past, if not longer.

Ryo started to speak, but his voice broke a bit. "But it is all nothing compared to what I received in the silver box."

Elena turned to look at her nephew. "Oh? What's in the box, Ryo?'

"My Christmas present from 12 years ago."

Elena gasped, and Rick came behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. He also looked at Ryo in surprise. Elena started, "You don't mean from …", then she fell silent.

Rick finally managed a response. "From your parents?"

Ryo nodded, unsure if his voice could answer properly. The box still filled him with conflicting emotions.

Elena looked pale. "Can I sit down somewhere? Maybe get a cup of tea?"

Ryo had recovered enough to realize his error in etiquette. "Oh, I apologize. I should have offered you something when you first got here, but I wanted you to see this. Let's go to the kitchen. It won't take long to brew the tea, and we can talk in there, maybe even have a bit of lunch. After we're done I'll show you what's in the box. I know you'll be surprised.

The tea brewed quickly, and their conversation had now switched to that dreadful Christmas Eve. Rick sat next to his wife, a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Rick started the conversation. "I know you were surprised that we were in the States that Christmas Eve, and we never did get to explain, for obvious reasons, and the occasion to discuss it never came up again. I've always been grateful that we had returned, otherwise you would have had no one for moral support. God knows what those biddies would have done to you; their attitude toward you was horrific enough even with us being there."

Elena nodded in agreement. "Your parents had asked us to return early so we could all spend Christmas together, especially since we were the only friendly family you had – at least here in the states. They wanted to make your last Christmas before you were thrust into adulthood and college a memorable one." Elena put a hand to her lips, realizing what she had said.

A silence hung in the air, all of them remembering. It had been memorable, but of a most desolate nature. The shrill whistle of the kettle brought them all back to the present.

Ryo placed the tea on the table, along with a plate of small sandwiches he retrieved from the fridge. "Well, it finally has become a Christmas to remember, even though it took one of the murderers to bring the forgotten to light. And as much as I try, my heart cannot hate him as much as my mind says I should. Oh, wait a minute."

Ryo walked into the dining room and retrieved the letter that Leo had written, now safely kept within the pages of the album. When he returned Rick was comforting his wife, while she was wiping her eyes with a hanky.

"Here, the two of you need to read this. It explains a lot, especially why he looked out for me."

For the next several minutes there was only the sound of pages being shuffled. When he felt they had finished examining the letter, Ryo held out the bank book, stating, "This is the revenge he exacted for me. I have the printouts of all the transactions, and it's all legal."

Elena gasped. "Oh my God, Ryo. No wonder father wanted nothing to do with us. If he had even an inkling that this was being done for you … oh, I don't even want to venture a guess as to his reaction. After that Christmas we never heard from any of the family again. I thought it was because I stood up for you at the funeral, but with this much financial difficulty going on in the background … the deposit dates seem to be about three years worth."

"Yup, that's all it took. Your uncles were quite ignorant in the business dealings. We have a printout of the same scheme being used on each of them, within weeks of each other. I can only guess that they were too embarrassed to mention the loss to the others. Do you even know what they are doing now? Did they go back into real estate after your father ousted them? We couldn't find any record of what happened or where they went."

Elena shook her head. "I have no idea. Like I said, they cut us off like a dead branch after the funeral. I guess I could look up a few of the cousins, but that's just Russian Roulette. Who knows where their loyalties lie, or even how much they know of the situation."

Ryo gave an evil laugh. "I wonder how much attention we'll get once the MacLean Education Fund starts receiving publicity. I am not going to hide the fact that it is my money. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that suddenly we become long lost relatives to quite a few of them. And they can all kiss my ass."

Completely shocked by their nephew's brash language, both Elena and Rick cried in unison, "Ryo!"

With a harshness in his eyes he replied, "Well, they can. All they will want to know is how much money I have and how muchthey can part from me. They can die wanting. They've had no time for me up until now, so I have no time for them – EVER."

After a few moments Ryo spoke again, but in a much milder tone. "I'm sorry, but just thinking of those people rubs me the wrong way. I know there will be all sorts of inquiries, especially from them once the fund becomes public. I've been mentally preparing for it. The main phone line will be with the lawyers for the first year or so; they will screen all the calls and leave messages with me. I think that should put them off after a year of not being able to contact me personally."

Rick and Elena looked at each other. This was the first time they had ever seen Ryo so decisive. It seems their little nephew had grown up and sprouted fangs, and sharp ones at that.

Rick started clapping his hands, laughing softly. "Spoken like a true MacLean! And I have years of experience with the bloodline." This line warranted a good-natured raised eyebrow from Elena. "Now, are you going to show us your Christmas gift, or must we go through 20 questions first?"

Ryo smiled deeply. "This is what I love about the two of you. You are as much my friends as my family, and to find that is very rare. Let's go back to the dining room. You're in for a treat."

They spent the afternoon going through the album. Elena added comments to the earlier pictures in the album, and by the time they were about half-way through Rick was able to add anecdotes quite often. Some of the pictures they had never seen, others were quite familiar. Some they had donated to be added to the album, not realizing at the time that it was to be Ryo's Christmas gift.

While they were reminiscing, both Bikky and Carol arrived. After greetings, hugs, and kisses, the kids stated they were on 'Kitchen Duty'. Before scampering off to the kitchen they announced an Italian dinner would be ready around 5.

Elena was astonished. "How did you get them to do that? Bikky's what, 13? Boys don't offer to cook! You never did."

Ryo smiled happily. "They've both seen the album. Neither really has ever had a family, much less a large one. Bikky only had his Dad, the rest of the family on both parents sides, snubbed them due to the interracial marriage.

In Carol's case, her mother left them high and dry once her dad was arrested, wanting nothing to do with a convicted thief. She just dumped her with her dad's sister, so she's been living with her for years. That's the only relative she has now. Although they were close before I met either of them, she sees Bikky, and now me, as family.

When the both of them saw the album, and what my family made for me, they were in awe. They felt they had to do something special to make themselves part of my family, like they really need to try. They've been looking forward to making dinner for you two since they heard you were definitely coming. Though I hope you don't mind, about all Bikky can make is spaghetti, but Carol can dress it up quite special."

"Ryo, dear, they could boil hot dogs and I would be quite happy. They are quite a charming pair."

Ryo laughed. "You don't have to put up with Bikky's shenanigans. He still has a lot of street kid in him, as does Carol. She had sunk to being a pick-pocket to get the money for her dad's bail. I will admit to helping her out there, and I'm glad I did. He didn't last a year once he came home. But that was precious time for them, and it helped straighten her out. Now she's working on straightening out Bikky."

Rick let out a hearty laugh. "So, you've gotten yourself two kids as well as a spouse? I'm happy for you, Ryo. And by the way, where is Dee? I want to see this bike of his. All he does is brag about it."

"He's been working at the orphanage today on some necessary and badly needed repairs. He's finally got the time to do it, since Commissioner Rose was nice enough to give us both the week off. He should have been here by now, but he did take the bike today, and it is nice out. He's probably joy riding with some of the kids. I'm pretty sure he won't miss dinner though."

As if summoned magically, a double ring on the doorbell and the sound of a key in the lock heralded Dee's arrival. He dropped his jacket on the sofa, and was hopelessly trying to gain control of his helmet hair.

"Elena! Rick! I'm sorry I'm late. The kids just love the bike and I usually wind up riding most of them around the block at least once. Pedro insisted on a second trip, and I couldn't say no." He rushed over to them, giving Elena a hug and a kiss, while Rick got a handshake and a clap on the back.

He glanced at Ryo and acknowledged the look he was receiving by answering, "I'll hang it up in a minute."

The comment caused both Elena and Rick to start laughing. Rick nudged Elena and commented, 'How many years have they been together, five? ten? I think we have an old married couple here."

Dee didn't quite know how to take the statement so he kept his mouth shut, but Ryo rapidly blushed, which caused Rick to laugh even harder. "He henpecks Dee one minute then blushes like a new bride the next." Elena tersely told him to behave, as he was embarrassing the two of them.

Dee had regained composure enough to safely comment, and assured Rick that he had not done any harm. In fact, he and Ryo often took turns henpecking each other. The comment did not help Ryo any, he just blushed brighter, if possible.

Dee sensed that if he said any more he would irritate Ryo, so he ushered the two of them into the living room to continue their conversation while Ryo set up the dining room for dinner. Ryo, on the other hand, was silently cursing himself for not being able to keep from blushing whenever anything remotely pertaining to their relationship was mentioned in a conversation.

After setting the table, Ryo checked in with the kids in the kitchen. Despite his earlier worries, the kitchen was still fairly neat. Carol had Bikky putting together the salad, and he was currently dicing the last of the vegetables. But he was still griping loudly about why he had to even touch those evil veggies.

Carol had doctored the jarred spaghetti sauce with sausage and spices to create a delicious red gravy you couldn't recognize as commercially based. The toasted mozzarella and garlic bread in the oven was filling the apartment with an appetite inducing aroma. After making sure they needed no help, he murmured 'thank you' to both of them. Giving Bikky a quick hug and Carol a kiss on the cheek, he went out to inform everyone that dinner would be on the table in about 15 minutes.

Dinner was an instant success, which made Bikky and Carol very happy. Every one complimented them on a job well done – even Dee managed to congratulate the kids, which caused Bikky to look at him strangely. The perv never said anything nice, and today he didn't call him Goldilocks even once. Ryo must have told him to be on his best behavior too.

After they had finished the meal, Ryo and Elena helped the kids clear the table, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and straighten up in general. The kids were going to the movies after they finished, leaving the adults with the time they needed to discuss all those adult things they always seem to need to discuss without children around. In the meantime, Dee had taken Rick down to see the bike, and, after lending him Ryo's helmet, took him for a leisurely spin around the neighborhood.

With all the non-essential things done, the four were now gathered again in the dining room. Ryo looked at his aunt and smiled, "How do I begin? Aunt Elena, this is where I tell you what you've been waiting to hear."

Ryo looked down at his hands, his body language becoming anxious and fidgety. "I have these treasures, worth close to a million dollars. I've thought about what I should do with them. I could easily sell them off to an art dealer for a fraction of the cost, or sell them for myself through an art broker, with not so high a loss."

Raising his gaze he looked from one person to the next, nervously waiting for the reaction to his next statement. "Or maybe – just maybe – set up my own art shop."


	6. Auld Lang Syne

Ryo has just voiced his thoughts on possibly starting his own art shop. The silence is deafening.

#=#=#=#=#

The other three people gathered at the table all registered surprise at the last comment. Ryo hadn't even mentioned this to Dee, so all were equally taken off guard. Braving the silence, Ryo continued.

"As I grew up, my whole future was in the art world, all the way to that Christmas Eve. It all went black after that. There were no concrete arrests, all the wrong conclusions were tainting an innocent family, and those pathetic people called my relatives were taking all they could. The police could give me no satisfaction, no closure to the nightmare that had engulfed my life. That's when I put aside my dream and decided to find my own answers."

Ryo dropped his gaze to his hands folded in front of him. "I took extra classes in college; I knew I needed a degree with the best possible record to get into the Police Academy, to be able to choose my own direction once there. I split my courses between criminology and art. I worked even harder in the Academy, forcing myself to excel at everything. I pushed myself to my limits in the weapons handling, knowing it might be the one thing I would need the most in my endeavor – that's why I became a crack sniper. Although I can hold my own now," with a smile, he shot a quick glance toward Dee, "at the time I wasn't particularly athletic, so I concentrated on the intellectual part of police work."

Ryo sighed and looked at the three faces watching him intently. "But now the nightmare is over. All the murderers are dead, my parents are officially cleared, and all property has been returned to its rightful owner. I can start over. It will probably take a few years, but I think I can do it."

Looking directly at Dee he continued. "I'm not quitting my job, that would be foolish, but I am going to need support and some help. Turning to look toward his aunt and uncle he added, "The shop wouldn't be considered moonlighting, but with another family member listed on the registry, it is more likely to be accepted as a family business. This is where you two come into the picture."

Elena smiled. "You want to ask us to help you set up and maybe work the store, correct? What do you need, dear? If we can help, we will." She gave a quick look toward Rick, who was already nodding in agreement.

"Thank you. I'll try not to lean on you too heavily. You two are like my parents now. You are the ones I can turn to when I have a difficult decision to make, well, most of the time anyway." Ryo shot a quick glance at Dee and smiled. Dee smiled back at him, knowing the decision to be partners was strictly Ryo's decision, no discussions were needed.

"Dad's daily planner was in his suitcase, and in it were quite a few names and addresses of his associates and fellow art dealers. I spoke with a few people, the ones I remember from when I helped out in the shop, seeking them out to help me find a suitable place to set up shop."

"Most of the people I called are here in the city, but one in particular is in the old hometown area. Do you remember Evan D'Arcy? He still runs Antique Renaissance, and he's still in the same building. His place was a few blocks from ours. He was good friends with my parents, and remembered me. He called me back right away, and is willing to meet to discuss business, and already he's offered space for me to use. He's actually looking for a partner to help him, and possibly to take over the shop when he retires. It seems he doesn't have any family to take over."

The nervousness again took over Ryo. "The only down side is that he's so close to where the old shop was, and less than 5 miles from my old home. I don't know if I can handle that yet. I haven't been back to the area since that Christmas. I know it's childish, but it's a fear I haven't mastered yet."

Elena's face brightened. "Ryo, dear, you have faced a lot of changes since that Christmas, many in the past year. We can't expect you to face everything at once. I remember Evan, and he is a very kind man; I think you would work well with him. Would you like us to accompany you when you meet him? I don't think your meeting with him will stir too many old memories, especially if we avoid the old gallery. And we haven't seen him in years; it would be nice to get reacquainted. We're closer to his shop than we are to you here in New York, so it's not really that much trouble."

"Aunt Elena, thanks for the offer, but I think I want to do this on my own. I want to show him that I am serious about this; that this is something I definitely want to do. Although I did tell him that I'm now a police detective, he hasn't seen me since I was a young teen. He has no idea of who I am, who I've become, what kind of person I am. I didn't go into details, but I let him know that I had quite a few valuable pieces that were released into my custody. I told him that I would have to check my schedule since I'm coming off a week's vacation right now, but that I could visit him to talk sometime next week. He seemed happy with that arrangement."

Elena smiled, reaching over to pat Ryo on the shoulder."Well, if you need us to put in a good word for you, just give us a call. We can be there faster than you. And speaking of being there, we're going to have to leave soon to get the train back home. We considered staying over, but we have plans we can't cancel for tomorrow, and it would be cutting it too close timewise."

Ryo quickly looked toward the pendulum clock on the wall. "Oh, it has gotten late, hasn't it? Let me get the coats and I'll drive you back to the station." Turning toward Dee, he asked, "Will you stay here and wait for the kids, or do you want to come with us?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to come along. Bikky has a key, and they won't be back for another couple hours. They usually stop off at the arcade after the movie lets out."

The drive to the train station was a very pleasant one, with all parties discussing Ryo's plans, what he was keeping of the treasures, what he could bring himself to sell. Was he going to make regular visits to the shop, or did he want Aunt Elena and Uncle Rick to do that for him?

By the time they had reached the station, a lot of the little details were hashed out, and plans had been made for everyone to meet on Ryo's next available day off. The usual round of hugs and kisses ended the family visit, and Dee and Ryo headed back to the car.

Once they had settled in the car, Ryo asked, "Where to? Are you staying at my place tonight? I know that Bikky will complain, but we do have things to do tomorrow."

Running his hand along Ryo's thigh, Dee sighed. "It's a tempting offer, but I do have some things to do on my own tonight. It's gotten rather late, and as you said, we will be busy tomorrow."

Ryo nodded. He too was tempted, but tomorrow was New Years Eve, and he knew they would celebrate the new year together, literally. Rather distractedly, he replied. "Hm, yeah, and we will have tomorrow night to ourselves…."

At that point Dee leaned over and kissed him, not just a sweet peck on the cheek, but a full out, knock your socks off, tongue and all kiss. After breaking the kiss, Dee purred, "Will that hold you until tomorrow night?"

Ryo was breathing heavily, but managed to mumble, "Stop teasing me!"

Dee just laughed, knowing that Ryo was feeling that kiss throughout his whole body. But then, so was he. "Take me home before I do something to you that you won't like done in public."

#=#=#=#=#

Once he was finally home, Ryo collapsed on the couch. The effects of Dee's kiss had waned, but they hadn't totally disappeared. _Damn! I've got to get these feelings under control. If we go back to work with me horny all the time, it's going to get difficult. But maybe getting back to work will get my mind off of Dee, and his body, and his lips, and his fingers, and his…._

The sound of a key in the lock broke Ryo's train of thought, and seconds later Bikky came bounding through the door. He smiled as he saw Ryo on the couch.

"You took the perv home? All right!"

"Bikky, that's not nice. He was very nice to you today. You two have to stop your bickering with each other. You both have a few more years that you have to put up with each other's presence. Once you're 18 is another story, but until then, learn to cope."

"Yeah, OK, I'm sorry. We got anything to eat? I'm hungry". At that, he promptly headed for the kitchen, and the refrigerator in particular.

Calling out to Bikky, Ryo growled, "Don't stand there with the door open. It makes the fridge run longer."

Bikky glanced toward the living room as he placed a plate of food in the microwave. "Boy, are you in a bad mood. You and the perv have a fight?"

Ryo reddened, he was upset about what he had been thinking about Dee, and Bikky's comments just irritated him. "If you mean Dee, no we did not have a fight. And I'm sorry, I think all the stress of the past week have caught up with me. And tomorrow I have to help setup the New Years Eve party at the orphanage. What time are you and Carol going to get there?"

Bikky came into the living room with a piece of pizza on a plate and plopped down on the floor. "I dunno. The guys wanted to go shopping in the mall tomorrow, and I was kinda thinking of going along, maybe with Carol."

"Sounds like a plan. Do you need a few bucks to get Carol lunch or something? You could always come to the orphanage after that. We'll have the food set out by then, so dinner won't be a problem."

"Yeah, I only have five bucks, and that won't buy much. So, we'll get there around 6:00 or so, OK? Can a few of the guys come along for our game, and are we going to be able to stay overnight?"

"Mother said it was fine for your friends to come over, and you all can stay overnight. That is as long as it's OK with their parents. After dinner you can set up that game you want to play. But you have to help her out with the cleanup, OK? She's not as young as us, so we need to help her out."

"Thanks, Dad, and we'll help out." Bikky looked down at his now empty plate. What looked to be a slight blush tinted his features as he rose to return the plate to the kitchen.

#=#=#=#=#

December 31st

Ryo spent the morning doing a bit of shopping for the party at the orphanage. Mother would probably be upset with him, but he bought noisemakers and party streamers for the kids to play with. A quick stop at the grocery store netted some kid-like treats to take along.

After seeing Bikky off to go 'malling' with his friends, Ryo headed to the orphanage. As Ryo entered the orphanage, sounds of party preparations filled the air. The dining hall was the loudest, so he headed in that direction first. Dropping the bags on the floor by the doorway, Ryo took in the scene. Dee was on a ladder, his back to the doorway, holding the ends of several banners and ordering the senior children where to move with their ends of the banners. Ryo wished he had a camera right then.

Dee hadn't noticed Ryo and was still focusing his efforts on getting the banners up. His unruly hair was in his eyes, his shirt was partially untucked from of his jeans, and a smudge ran across his right cheek. Even though a few of the children weren't following his directions, he was very patient and explained again what he needed them to do.

Ryo watched as they finally got the banners up, then quietly backed out of the room before Dee knew he was there. If the guys at the 2-7 could see him now, they wouldn't believe it. Here was Dee Laytner, the hot-head of the CI Unit, guiding children with the patience of a saint, not a hint of temper showing. They would swear he was Jekyll and Hyde in the flesh.

Retrieving the bags that contained the food, Ryo headed for the kitchen. At the moment, the kitchen was a beehive of activity. Most of the older girls, and a few of the boys, were busy preparing dinner and some of the treats for later in the evening. Ryo moved to one of the side counters and placed his bags there, then sought out Mother.

Mother saw him first, and came over to give him a hug. "How's one of my favorite detectives today?" She was very careful not to call him, or Dee, a favorite son when the other orphans were around. She knew they were very sensitive about things like that, and she didn't want to make any of them feel inferior.

Returning the hug, and adding a kiss to the forehead, he answered, "Very well, Mother Lane, and how are you feeling? Are you up to a party like this? These kids have more energy than we do."

"Dee made me take a nap this afternoon. What does he think I am, a little old lady? They haven't outrun me yet. So what have you brought? I see lots of bags on that counter."

Ryo grinned. "A lot of types of crackers, some popcorn, different kinds of pretzels and chips- and of course lots of fruit to cut up. Oh, and a of couple jars of peanut butter and jelly to make snacks. I have a nice baked cheese recipe for us older people; it has veggies in it and I know that won't go over well with most of the kids." Looking around the kitchen Ryo noted that dinner was well on its way to be finished, so he would wait until after dinner to start putting together his donation. Right now, he would rather spend his time talking with Mother.

After dinner was over the Sisters that assisted Mother had different groups of children working on craft projects in the dining room, giving them something to do while they waited for the magical midnight hour. The younger children that wanted to stay up were made to take a nap. For those who didn't want to make crafts, there was always the list of New Years resolutions to make.

It was around 9:00 when Bikky and Carol arrived, with several friends in tow. After greeting several of the kids from the orphanage, Bikky, his friends, and a few of the older kids from the orphanage began setting up the game and its parts on one of the dining room tables. There was a grid base that covered the table, and miniature figures were scattered about on it. Tablets and pencils sat in front of each player, and piles of dice were scattered about.

Several extra televisions had been set up in the living room/recreational area, each with a different movie being shown. They would all be tuned to the local festivities when it got closer to midnight. A local fireworks show was always broadcast after the ball dropped in Times Square, and Mother was happy with that. It was much safer and warmer than traveling with the kids to view them.

As the first strains of Auld Lang Syne came from the television, even the smallest children that were still awake tried to add their voices. Many didn't know the words, but if you just listened to the feelings and not the words, the sound was beautiful. After they had finished, they all cheered and tooted their noisemakers. But then, one lone voice began to sing the song again.

_Should auld acquaintance be forgot,_

_and never brought to mind ?_

_Should auld acquaintance be forgot,_

_and auld lang syne ?_

_And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp !_

_and surely I'll be mine !_

_And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,_

_for auld lang syne._

_We twa hae run about the braes,_

_and pu'd the gowans fine ;_

_But we've wander'd mony a weary foot,_

_sin auld lang syne._

_We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn,_

_frae morning sun till dine;_

_But seas between us braid hae roar'd_

_sin auld lang syne._

_And there's a hand, my trusty fiere !_

_and gie's a hand o' thine !_

_And we'll tak a right gude-willy waught,_

_for auld lang syne. [1]_

Everyone in the room had their eyes on Ryo. He was leaning against the wall by the Christmas tree, eyes focused on a time long past, the words flowing from him in a beautiful baritone. Subconsciously, his hands gently caressed the cup he held. When he had finished, one hand reached up to wipe away the few tears that had escaped his eyes.

When the crowd of children that had gathered around him started clapping, he suddenly realized what he had done, and turned his usual shade of pink. He was quite flustered by the time Dee reached his side.

"Ryo, that was beautiful. I didn't know you could sing like that." Noticing the tear stains on Ryo's face, he reached up and wiped away one of the remaining trails. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm OK. I think I've finally reached that seventh stage of grief – acceptance and hope. I haven't sung that aloud since my parents died. It was Dad's tradition that we sing that version on New Years. I've run it through my mind every year, but I could never voice it until now. Now I can accept its meaning. It's time to forget the past, time to stop dwelling on events that cannot be changed. With all that has happened in the past few weeks, that chapter of my life is finally over, the door is permanently closed."

Ryo shifted away from the wall and turned toward Dee. "From now on, I'm going to concentrate on the here and now." With a rather seductive look on his face he asked, "Can we go home, please? I want to write a few pages in the new chapter."

Dee recognized the emotion in Ryo's eyes, which only heightened the desire he already felt for this man. "Your wish is my command. Let's say our goodbyes to Mother and the crew."

The children had dispersed once Ryo finished singing, and were in little clumps scattered about the room, even at this hour showing no signs of being tired. Some were watching the fireworks display on the TV screens, others playing games. As they wandered between the groups, many came up and hugged or kissed one or both of the men.

As they moved between two groups, Ryo smiled at Dee. "I told you we had a lot of kids."

They finally made it to where Bikky and Carol were engrossed in a role playing game with about a half dozen other kids. Ryo came up behind Bikky and tapped him on the shoulder. Bikky turned and frowned when he saw Ryo.

"I don't have to go now, do I? I thought we were staying all night. We're just getting to the good part."

The whine in Bikky's voice was so out of character that Ryo laughed. "No, I just wanted to let you two know that we're leaving now. Just make sure you help Mother, OK?" Ryo turned to address all the kids at the table. "All of you? There's a bit of a mess here to be cleaned up."

A chorus of 'yes, we will' came from the table, then Carol added, "Ryo, that song you sang – it was beautiful. I didn't know you could sing so well."

Ryo smiled, "Neither did I." Quickly changing the subject he continued, "We'll see you two tomorrow. Be good!"

Bikky rolled his eyes, but both nodded in agreement.

Their next job was to locate Mother, which wasn't too hard. She was seated in a rocking chair by the tree, looking rather weary. In her lap was a little stuffed penguin with a small gold cross around it's neck, the one Dee had given her. It had been a long day for her, even though Dee had managed to get her to take a nap in the afternoon.

Dee quipped, "How are you holding up, Penguin?"

"Dee Laytner, how many times have I told you not to call me that? You are a bad influence on the other children here. I should give you a thrashing for all your disobedience."

Dee laughed and knelt down as he replied, "You've said it as many times as I've said that I love you. I think we're about even. And you wouldn't thrash me – it would hurt you too much to do that." Dee leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which she returned.

Ryo watched the two interact. Indeed, there was a love bond between the two. The body language of both spoke of a deep rooted love, like a real mother and her child. Just for a moment he felt jealous, knowing that he would never have that again.

Mother's voice brought him back to the present. "Ryo, why have you hidden that voice of yours for so long? I think you moved all the adults here to tears with your rendition. You best watch out - I'm going to make you join our choir."

After giving her a kiss on the cheek he replied, "I don't think I have that great a voice. You were just mesmerized by the Scots language. It makes it sound like a different song."

Mother looked Ryo straight in the eyes, concern reflected from hers. "Where were you when you were singing? I could see you were quite distant from here. Is this from your childhood?"

Smiling sadly he replied, "Yes, we always sang it on New Years Eve. It's been a long while since I wanted to sing it again."

Mother took his one hand in hers and held it. "You are finally healing, aren't you? That's good. You've paid a high enough price for that part of your life. Now you are going to begin anew, a new year for a new start. I wish you all the luck with the store; I know you'll do well. You can even get that rapscallion over there to help you out, right Dee?"

Dee looked perplexed. "Huh? What, I'm an onion?"

Neither Ryo nor Mother could stifle their laughter, which only confused Dee more. Mother finally explained it to him. "It is an old term for calling someone a rascal, which you can be at times."

With a mock hurt look, Dee sighed, "I think I've been insulted." Then Dee turned serious, concern in his eyes. "Are you sure you can handle all these little hooligans? They're still pretty wound up. We can stay if you need us." Ryo nodded in agreement.

"No, no, we'll be fine. I'll be chasing them off to bed within the hour, though I may have to let the gamers stay up a bit longer." She glanced toward the dining area to look at Bikky and his friends. "It's nice to see children enjoying something other than violence and crime."

Both Dee and Ryo smiled, but kept quiet. They knew the game that the group was playing, and even if it was fantasy, it was nowhere near non-violent. They hoped she wouldn't be too shocked once she knew what they were playing.

After saying goodbye to the young Sisters that were helping out, the two men walked toward Ryo's car. Just as they reached the car, Dee grabbed Ryo's arm and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Happy New Year, Ryo. This is my best year so far – I have you."

"Happy New Year, Dee. I'm glad to be with you too. How about we get to my place and we discuss this in a more personal way?"

With his customary smirk on his face, Dee replied,"Let's go then. Should we use the flashy bubble gum light so we can drive faster?"

"Dee!" Ryo said in mock dismay, but then followed it with a smile and another kiss before ordering Dee to get in the car.

#=#=#=#=#

During the ride to Ryo's place, both kept the conversation to the events of the day, rather than what was on their minds. The traffic was heavier than normal due to the holiday, so both men had run out of subject material long before they entered the garage under Ryo's building.

Once they entered the apartment, neither could hold off any longer. Before Ryo could even reach for the light switch, Dee had him in his arms, caressing and kissing him.

Ryo immediately forgot about lights and switches, and lost himself in the sensual touches of his lover, returning the same to Dee.

When they finally broke the kiss, Ryo announced in a raspy voice, "I want us both to top tonight. I want to start the year as equals. Please?"

A pale light issued from the windows and illuminated the room. Dee looked down into the dark depths of Ryo's eyes. There was nothing he wouldn't do for him, nothing he could deny him. "That is a very nice idea, I agree. I'll need some time to prepare."

Ryo gave Dee a quick kiss before flipping on the light switch. "Earlier I put your robe in the bathroom; I hoped you would agree. I'll get together a bit of a snack while you take care of your business."

"It sounds like you've already done a bit of preplanning. More food play? Is this what I can look forward to this year? If so, I think I'm ready for a few surprises." Dee patted Ryo on the butt and said, "I'll be back in a couple minutes. Don't start without me."

Ryo chuckled as he watched Dee head for the bathroom, then turned toward the kitchen. He had a bottle of Asti waiting in the fridge, along some nice strawberries and chocolate dip. That should start things off right. But the chocolate wasn't going near the bedroom. He'd had enough of cleaning up chocolate after the last time they played.

He set to work fixing the berries, heating the chocolate, and arranged all the items on a tray. He had thought about using the dining room, but the kitchen was safer and much easier to clean should things get out of hand.

Ryo had just finished arranging everything on the table when he heard the shower start. He fought the urge to join Dee in the shower, knowing exactly what would happen if he did. He found the daily newspaper tucked under the corner of the couch, opened it and sat down to wait.

Finally he heard the water being turned off, and a few minutes later Dee appeared. His heart felt like it skipped a few beats, this man was so sexy. He was wearing the black silk robe Ryo had given him for Christmas. The silk material draped luxuriously around his body, not quite hiding everything, but not quite showing it either. One could definitely tell there was no hint of clothing under the robe. He had managed to get the collar to stand up, giving quite a roguish look when combined with the wet, disheveled hair.

Ryo took several deep breaths before he even tried to speak."Now you have to give me a few minutes. How about you find some music to set the mood? I shouldn't be too long." Not waiting for an answer, he hurried off to the bathroom.

Dee watched Ryo scamper away, mentally noting that the first round tonight was going to be very fast. They might not even make it to the bedroom. He idly wondered how many times they could go before being completely exhausted.

When Ryo exited the bathroom, the apartment was fairly dark again. As he entered the living room he could hear the strains of some light mood music, instrumental, and at just the right volume for background effect. The room was aglow with candlelight. Dee had found the jarred vanilla candles Ryo kept stored in the closet, and had set two of them on the coffee table. The Asti, two flutes, and the tray sat between the candles.

Dee was stretched out on the sofa, the robe teasingly covered just enough to catch Ryo's attention. “You’re wearing your robe too.” Dee rose and moved to stand behind Ryo, wrapping his arms around him. After a few licks on his neck, his hands dropped from Ryo’s waist to caress the hips hidden under the golden robe, then daringly crept forward to embrace the top of his thighs.

Ryo leaned back against Dee, tilting his head back to nuzzle Dee’s shoulder. He could feel the arousal in Dee, and started to slowly rub against him. He felt Dee tense up and a low moan escape from his lips.

Dee started to run his hands up and down Ryo’s arms, then grasped his upper arms firmly and pushed him toward the couch. “If you keep this up, we won’t even get to the strawberries. I’ve even poured the wine. Go sit down and have a strawberry.”

He guessed what was on Ryo's mind after seeing the look on his face, so he quickly added, "I'll behave myself with the chocolate tonight; I'm in a much more seductive mood." He slid onto the sofa, close to Ryo, and ran a strawberry through the chocolate dip. "Open up."

Ryo opened his mouth obediently, but Dee didn’t give him the berry right away. He took the morsel and ran it across Ryo’s lower lip, leaving a chocolate coating, before allowing him to eat it.

Ryo slowly chewed the berry, never breaking eye contact with Dee. Dee was mesmerized by the action, and finally pulled close to Ryo.

“You have chocolate on your lips. Let me help you with it.” Dee leaned into Ryo and started to lick the chocolate off his lips.

Ryo had unsuccessfully tried to get a berry from the dish before Dee moved in, so he pushed Dee back after he had removed most of the chocolate. “How about I give you some of your own to take care of?” He quickly leaned to the side and ran a berry through the chocolate.

The procedure was the same, wiping the chocolate along the lower lip before allowing Dee to bite it. But when he bit into the berry, a bit of juice escaped and dripped on his chest, just missing the robe.

Ryo looked worried. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. I can’t have you getting your nice robe dirty, can I? I guess I’ll have to take it off of you.”

Very methodically Ryo undid the belt, then slowly slid the shoulders of the robe down Dee’s arms. When he got it to the elbows he stopped, exposing the full frontal view of his lover. It also restricted Dee’s movement. Leaning forward very slowly, Ryo extended his tongue to clean the wayward drip from Dee’s chest.

Ryo saw Dee’s cock twitch as he initially touched his chest, then heard the intake of breath as he licked the drop away. Moving back to take in this exotic view, he realized that Dee had managed to fully remove the robe.

“Two can play this game. Let’s take your robe off so you don’t dirty it.” Dee’s hands were already undoing the loop Ryo had made in the belt, and within seconds both men were totally naked.

Ryo trembled as Dees hands ran up his chest, across to his shoulders, the down his arms, taking the robe with them. Reaching over for another berry, Ryo rubbed the luscious fruit along the underside of Dee’s cock, then popped it in his mouth.

Dee watched in amazement as Ryo did this. “You have become a lewd man, Ryo MacLean.”

“You have a problem with that?” Ryo was reaching for another berry. “Just because I like mine Dee-flavored?” He repeated the previous motion, sending shivers through Dee’s body.

“No, not at all. I’m just a bit surprised, that’s all. Is this part of the new chapter?” Dee now held a strawberry. “And where should I rub this one? I want to try a Ryo-flavored berry.”

“Anywhere you want.” Ryo moved a bit closer to Dee, almost daring him to touch him with the berry.

Dee repeated Ryo’s action, watching Ryo as he did so. Ryo’s eyes closed to slits, and a soft moan escaped his lips. A drop of pre-cum had escaped Ryo’s cock, and Dee gathered it with the berry.

“Um, definitely Ryo flavored.” Dee put a berry in Ryo’s mouth. “Can we share this one?” then proceeded to part Ryo’s lips with his tongue and lap at the bitten berry still in his mouth.

While Dee was fishing for the berry, Ryo had eased Dee downward, and was now had him lying on his back. Dee had noticed the move, and how both their cocks were now pressing against each other.

Looking into Ryo’s eyes, he stated,“You do know we aren’t going to make the first round in the bedroom, don’t you? I think we need a quick release so we can enjoy the rest of the evening.”

Ryo looked at Dee through hooded eyes. “Then let me take you here.” Ryo slid down Dee’s body, caressing the muscles as he went. He let his fingertips wander across Dee’s cock and under his ball sac, then moved back to the weeping tip.

Rubbing a bit of the semen between his fingers he purred, “Looks like someone is ready.”

Ryo had learned well how to give a blow job, and Dee was quite vocal while Ryo had performed his skill on him. He gripped the sides of the sofa cushion as the blinding white flash took over his vision. He slowly opened his eyes just in time to see Ryo reach over to the table, drag a berry through the chocolate, then bringt it to his mouth.

Ryo ran his tongue around the berry, slowly lapping off all the chocolate. He then ate the berry, remarking, “Nope, I like Dee flavored berries better.”

Dee sat up quickly, catching Ryo off-guard and causing him to fall backward. Moving to sit on his knees between Ryo’s legs, he grabbed Ryo’s cock. He could feel where the semen had dripped. “Now it’s your turn. Are you ready?”

Not waiting for an answer, he grabbed Ryo’s legs and positioned them on his shoulders. Using his arms to support Ryo’s back, he took Ryo’s cock in his mouth and began sucking.

Ryo hadn’t expected such a maneuver from Dee and the rapid burst of pleasure pushed him into a state of euphoria. He moaned loudly, and when Dee managed to free one hand to massage his ball sac, he shuddered uncontrollably.

It was over all too quickly. Dee managed to position Ryo comfortably on the sofa, and both men took a few minutes to catch their breath.

Dee looked down, taking in the beauty of the man below him. "We need a breather here, or we'll never make it to the bedroom." Dee reached over and took both of the wine glasses, and held one out to Ryo. "Now, before we get too engrossed in what we were doing, we need a toast for the new year. What should it be?"

Ryo sat up and took the flute. He made eye contact with those smoldering green eyes and lost all train of thought for a moment. The emotions of the past few minutes had still not dissipated. When Dee wrapped his arm around the Ryo's, putting them in the traditional wedding toast pose, his thoughts returned.

Ryo smiled. "To my new future with you, and all the happy years to come."

Stroking Ryo’s face with his available hand, Dee replied, "May we always be together, may I never lose you, my reason for being. I love you so much, Ryo."

With a slight clink of crystal, both drank the toast then, placing the glasses on the table, kissed and clung to each other tightly. Neither wanted to release the warm embrace, each one fighting back emotions a man supposedly shouldn't show. Finally Dee broke the hold and took Ryo's hand.

"Let's go to bed."

#=#=#=#

[1] What Ryo sang was the Scots (not Scottish) version of Auld Lang Syne, a poem written by Robert Burns. Scots, or Lowland Scots, refers to the Germanic linguistic varieties spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language of Scotland.

See Wikipedia ( wiki/Scots_language) for more information on this language variant.

Also, see Wikipedia ( wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne) for more information, translation, and the Scots pronunciation of the song.


	7. The Future Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have idealized Poughkeepsie in my story. Today it is a sorry town, trying desperately to regain some of the glory it once had. I've been there only once, just a drive-through, but it made an impression on me. It is reminiscent of the early 20th century, with its brick manufacturing buildings and the quaint commercial area.  
> I took the best parts of its past and polished them up to show them off, adding bits and pieces from other art towns I've visited. The Opera House, Bardavon, is real. Built in 1869, it is the oldest continuously-operating theater in New York State. More information is available here:  
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardavon_1869_Opera_House

It was a rather long drive to Poughkeepsie, but most was on major highways and well-travelled roads. Luckily the weather had been kind – the heavy snow had detoured around the area, but the cold January temperatures had remained in place. Surprisingly, even after so long he easily remembered the route to get there – all the turnoffs and side streets – to arrive in the center of town.

Dee had offered to come along for moral support, but Ryo talked him into finishing the repairs at the orphanage that had been started over the Christmas break. Anyway, this was to be an interview to possibly become a partner in a business, and you don't bring along a friend to such a meeting, even if the interviewer is an old family friend.

Ryo found a spot in a parking area just off the main street and pulled in, shutting off the engine. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He'd come this far, he couldn't get cold feet now. So much had happened in the past weeks, so much had changed. He could finally truly believe that his parents were vindicated, and those responsible had been made to pay the price. But now he also knew that his relatives had received a well deserved lesson in finances, and that he had a chance to see what he had expected his future to be.

Opening his eyes he slowly took in the architecture around him. A few old buildings were gone, and several that he remembered had new facelifts. Things had changed in the past 12 years, but yet things hadn't really changed. Old familiar stores now sported new modern faces due to changes in management. Other remembered buildings now housed a few new businesses; even several new brand names had added their signs and banners to the brightly colored advertising placards and flags hung outside the establishments. The side streets were a cacophony of colors and styles of artwork; advertising everything from hand crafted goods to fine art, from reproduction art to genuine antiques – the last being his parents' field.

But on the whole, it was still a small town that made a living from art, in all its varied forms. The Roosevelts and the Vanderbilts of Hyde Park had originally added to draw attention to the town, and now the local art school and Vassar College helped sustain it.

His eyes landed on one particular shop and stopped right there. It was a small cafeteria occupying the lower floor of a plain brick building. It didn't seem to have aged one tiny bit from the last time he was here. How often had they had lunch there? They had the best hot cocoa and grilled cheese sandwiches he had ever eaten, though he never let on to his mom that hers was second best.

As if waiting for its cue, his stomach grumbled. He hadn't eaten anything for breakfast. He was afraid that he would be too nervous to hold anything down. It had been in knots since last night, but currently it seemed his stomach had other ideas. Even a cup of coffee and a doughnut would quiet the noisy beast of a stomach. Nothing can be more embarrassing than a grumbly stomach while trying to put forth your best effort in an interview. Maybe he should stop in the diner and see if it really was stuck in time. He hadn't arranged a specific time for the interview, just sometime in the afternoon. Mr. D'Arcy said he would be there all day, so time was not a limiting factor.

The heat was rapidly leaving the car, so he decided to go for the coffee. As he exited the car, he stretched, working out the stiffness in his muscles from the two and a half hour drive. After locking the car he wrapped the new scarf he had received from Carol on Christmas neatly around his neck and ears, pulled on the matching gloves, and headed toward the diner.

As soon as he opened the door, his senses were flooded with memories. The sounds emanating from the kitchen area told of a busy crew. The aroma in the air of burgers and fried onions caused his stomach to repeat its plea for food. The waitresses moved quickly but carefully with their armloads of plates toward the customers seated in the familiar red booths. Tucking his gloves into his coat pockets, he hung his coat and scarf on the coat rack placed by the door. Spotting several open seats at the end of the counter, he headed in that direction, not wanting to tie up a booth for one person.

Once seated, he ran his hand across the stainless edging of the counter, its chill travelling up his fingertips, bringing back memories of summer visits here and the welcome coolness of the counter's touch.

"May I help you?"

The voice brought him back to the present. Looking up he found himself gazing at a familiar face, but unable to put a name to it.

"My god, is that you, Randy?" Seeing the confusion on Ryo's face, he added, "It's me, Pete, Pete Collins, I was a year behind you in school. I lived a couple streets over from you."

"Petey! Yes, I remember you. Is this your shop now?"

"Yeah, but where are my manners? What do you want, it's on the house. Once I take your order I'll have a seat and catch up with you while you're waiting."

"That sounds like a good plan to me, but you don't need to pay. I'll have a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of hot cocoa. Believe it or not, it's the first thing I thought of when I saw the diner."

"Just hold on a second." He turned toward the closest waitress behind the counter. "Daisy, take this order for me. This guy's a special friend, so I'm taking a short break." Pete chuckled and turned back to Randy. "Yeah, if I remember right, it was your favorite order. Every time that order was sent to the back, I'd peek out from the kitchen and see if you were here."

"Is that why you were always peering around the corner? I thought you were trying to get out of working in the kitchen, or trying to avoid running into your Dad. He always had something for you to do, if I remember correctly."

Pete did a quick glance around the diner, then motioned toward the corner booth. "He sure did. Let's sit over there, where we can talk more privately."

After settling into the booth, Pete spoke first. "I couldn't believe it was you. It's been so long. What are you doing now, if I may ask."

"I'm a detective with the New York Police Department. I joined straight after college."

Pete gave a low whistle. "That's a far cry from what you wanted to do. It wouldn't have to do with what happened to your family, would it? Oh, if I'm being too nosy just tell me to mind my own business."

"No, it's fine. Yes, I became a police officer because of what happened. There were no answers, no leads, it didn't even look like they wanted to investigate. It's taken 12 years, but it is finally finished, closed to my satisfaction. All those that were involved in the incident have met justice. And how about you? Looks like this is your diner now."

Pete smiled sadly. "Yup, all mine. Dad had a heart attack a few years back. He lingered for a few months, but then the second heart attack did him in."

"I'm sorry to hear that. He was a good man." Changing the subject Ryo asked, "What's with the ring? Somebody get married?"

Pete's smile brightened. "Yeah, been 8 years now. Remember Becky Brown? She was in the same grade as me. She batted those baby blue eyes at me once too often and I was hooked."

Pete reached down and removed his wallet from his pants pocket. He opened it, flipped through a few pictures, then held it over to Ryo. "Here's the kids, Richard is 6, Susie is almost 4."

Ryo smiled at the two bright-eyed children that gazed at him from the wallet. Both had blondish hair, much like Becky's, from what he could remember.

"How about you? No ring, so you got any possibilities lined up?"

Ryo fell back on his standard answer that he used for years. It wasn't quite a lie, but for now, especially now, it was the safest thing to say. "No, with my profession I can't make someone wait to hear that I've been killed in the line of duty. I've been shot twice, knifed numerous times, and had numerous broken bones from being attacked and pushed around. Detectives tend to be in more hazardous situations than most policemen. I'm also one of the top sharpshooters in the New York police department, which places me in the most dangerous situations."

Pete shuddered. "And I thought that spilling a pot of hot coffee down the front of me was dangerous! You have my respect, Randy. That's a job I wouldn't like to tackle."

The conversation then drifted to old schoolmates and what they were doing, who was still around in the old home town, and those who had chosen to move on to greener pastures. Daisy arrived with the previously ordered lunch, and Pete excused himself for a few minutes.

When he returned he was carrying a mug of coffee and a plate containing two pastries; cream puffs in the shape of a swan.

Placing the plate on the table between them, he said, "I remember you always liked these, and we had a few left in the back."

Ryo looked up, surprised, and thanked him. "I'm surprised that you remembered. And you still make the grilled cheese the same. It hasn't changed, you still put in the thin slices of tomato and the one slice of swiss cheese. It's delicious!"

"Thanks. I tried to keep most of the recipes the same as Dad used. We have a lot of local customers who don't take to change very well. If I were to lose the tomato in that sandwich, I think they'd string me up."

Pete paused between sips of coffee and bites of the cream puff. "What brings you up here, so far from the Big Apple? Special case?"

"No, believe it or not, they just finalized my parents case and I've inherited all the goods they impounded that day. I'm going to see Mr. D'Arcy about asking him to help me these treasures. I don't have any connections to do it by myself."

Pete looked genuinely surprised. "Evan D'Arcy, the old guy who runs Antique Renaissance? So you're going to be an art dealer now? You quitting the police force?"

Ryo smiled and shook his head. "No. I've been with the force for too long to turn my back on them. We do a service for the public, whether they believe it or not. And I like being part of that. Once I retire, then possibly I'll settle down and deal with being a full time art broker. For now, my aunt and uncle with help me with the finer points of the art business."

After a few more details of their current status, the conversation then turned back to school chums and what they were doing. But before long, one of the kitchen help worriedly sought out Pete and detailed a small disaster in the kitchen.

Before leaving to straighten out the problem in the kitchen, Pete told Ryo not to be such a stranger. "Stop in any time you're in the area. I'm here every day but Monday, and we close at 7PM. It was good to see you, Randy. Everybody was shocked with what happened, and no one could find out anything – your relatives wouldn't talk to anyone in town and you disappeared so fast. I'm really glad you came through OK."

Ryo finished the meal, much more than he had expected to eat. The food was as Pete had said, just like Dad's. Ryo placed a $20 on the table and then took one of his business cards from his wallet. Flipping it over, he wrote on the back, ' _Thank you so much for the welcome. I will come back._ ', and placed in with the money. He would definitely come back, that was for sure.

Wrapping himself up for the chill outside, Ryo opened the door and walked slowly toward the center of town. As he turned the corner, he found himself staring at the Opera House, one of the oldest operating in the country, and the oldest in the state. His feet crossed the street and took him to the front façade of the building as old memories danced in his mind. How many times had he come here with his parents? How many operas had he watched with rapt attention, how many orchestral concerts had he enjoyed while seated between them? He had even been backstage for a few productions, his parents being friends with someone in the cast. Sometimes his parents had even supplied an item or two for the set designers to use.

So far this trip had been the opposite of what he had feared. Everything had brought back pleasant memories, nothing had caused any uneasiness. Pete had welcomed him as a long lost friend, not the feared son of drug dealers. All that was left was to see the shop. No, he still didn't think that he was ready for that. It had taken all his courage to get him back here, so many years after he had left. And Evan had stated that it was still owned by an antique dealer, although he specialized in antique furniture, not object d'art. He would take another street to get to Evan's shop.

#=#=#=#=#

As Ryo walked down the street, he noticed that most of the shops hadn't changed since he was last here, over 12 years ago. Although it was mid afternoon the street was shaded due to the taller buildings behind the narrow street, giving a distant time and place feel to the numerous stores.

As he stopped in front of Antique Renaissance, he could see nothing had changed except the color of the latest coat of paint. Opening the door caused the bell hung over the door to clatter, alerting anyone in the store to the arrival of a new customer.

A distant voice called, "I'll be right there", so Ryo examined the store while waiting for Mr. D'Arcy to enter the shop. An excellent security system was very carefully hidden within the figured woodwork of the 100 year old interior. Although there was less stock here than he remembered, every piece was a quality work of art. As he was examining a small brass figurine he heard footsteps, then a voice asking, "Yes, may I be of assistance?"

Ryo felt his heart skip a beat. Mr. D'Arcy's tone sounded much like his father's voice.

Placing the figurine back on the shelf, he turned and replied, "Yes you may. Or more correctly, I hope that you can assist me."

Evan D'Arcy was a small man, several inches shorter than Ryo. Ryo seemed to remember him being taller, but then perhaps he had grown since seeing him last. He had piercing blue grey eyes, and his hair was definitely thinner and greyer, but still neatly styled. He was dressed in an old-fashioned 3 piece grey flannel suit, with a wide striped grey and black tie, and highly polished black leather brogues[1]. He looked as much an antique as all the items in the shop.

"Randy MacLean? Randy, so good to see you!" Evan offered his hand, then threw the other arm around Ryo's shoulders for a very warm hug.

Ryo returned the friendly embrace, feeling the friendship extended through the contact. "I'm surprised that you remember me that well, Mr. D'Arcy. We haven't seen each other in a long time, and I was a just a teenager then. I've grown quite a bit since then."

"The name is Evan, please. If we are going to work together we should be on a first name basis. Come, let's sit at the desk over there and discuss things, shall we? It's slow after the holidays, but I still like to stay close to the main showroom."

After settling at the desk, Ryo asked Evan, "You seem very certain of me becoming your business associate, but you know very little of me. I think I should fill you in on my background a bit."

"Like what? I knew you as a child. You are one of the best detectives in New York City, you have a foster child that you care for, and another young girl that you watch over. You and your work partner take special care of a local orphanage, the one where your partner was raised. You both manage to keep tabs on the children there, trying to keep them on the straight and narrow. You are a very conscientious law officer, doing your best to also take care of the residents of New York City. Did I miss anything?"

Ryo couldn't keep all the surprise off his face, but then a thought struck him. "Aunt Elena visited, didn't she?"

Evan laughed. "Yes she did. We had quite a long talk about you. I'm surprised that your ears aren't still burning. She's quite the lady; too bad she's already married. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for her – but don't you go telling her that! I'll deny everything."

Ryo laughed at the truthful comment. "Evan, the only people that I've seen that don't adore her are our relatives. I guess we are the black sheep of the MacLeans, not that I really care."

Evan shook his head, remembering the days that followed the murders. "They were quite rude people. They commandeered everything in the shop as theirs, and promptly put the shop up for sale after everyone in town shunned them. No one liked them badmouthing your parents. Your parents were good people. And I heard they did the same with your home."

Ryo nodded. "Thanks to this inheritance, I have learned a lot about my greedy family. Things I never would have known if someone hadn't taken the time to make sure I would know."

Reaching in his jacket pocket, Ryo removed a packet of papers. "But, enough about greedy relatives. I'm here to see what we can do with these." Ryo handed the packet of provinces to Evan.

Ryo watched Evan's face has he worked his way through the papers. By the time he had finished he had a look of absolute astonishment. "These are worth a fortune. You said they were in the impound facility all this time?"

"Yup, and there is no damage that I can see to any of it. The scrolls will need to be restored, but they are really in good condition considering."

"What exactly are you planning to do with these treasures?"

Ryo looked Evan straight in the eye. "I have a few I want to keep for myself, but I was hoping we could make a deal and you would help sell them for me. I will give you the standard percentage for brokering them. Then together we could re-invest into new stock and see how it goes. Maybe if all goes right, and with your help, I'll be able to become an art dealer part-time."

"Randy, let me lay it out truthfully. I have no family to leave this shop to, and you lost your family that loved this business. I think you love this field as much as they did; I know your past. I don't want to see the store disappear with me, so I'm offering you the chance to work with me, like a son, and take over when the time comes. I make enough here to pay the bills and live very comfortably, and the store has a select clientele. In fact, I'd say half of my regular clients dealt with your folks. I have been looking for someone for several years, and of all the people I've considered, only you seem capable of taking my place here."

Ryo could feel the blush rising. "I'm honored that you consider me so highly. But you must keep in mind that I won't be much of an active partner here in Poughkeepsie. I can devote several days a month to helping out, but until I retire there isn't much I can do in actual in-shop assistance."

"Randy, I know that. But you have expertise in the field. You know the Asian, and especially the ancient Chinese, art very well. You have aspects that I don't have. You can add a new element to the shop just through purchases. We can do a lot of the work online and via email. Your Aunt Elena can fill in the gaps, since she's closer to here than you are. She mentioned that you asked her to assist. In the past your parents and I shared many contacts, and I know that those contacts will fully back you in your choices. I truly would like to work with you."

Ryo looked at the sincerity in the elder gentleman's face. Evan felt that he had found someone that he could share his life with, and was very reluctant to let him get away. He had faith in Ryo and Ryo wholeheartedly respected that trust. He smiled and offered his hand. "I think we can give it a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"Thank you Randy, you've made an old man happy. Just knowing that there is someone that I can trust to take over for me eases my mind."

Evan allowed him in the back to see the security setup and the safe. They settled once again at the desk where the conversation then drifted to 'shop talk'; when Ryo could get the stock to the store, where they would place certain items, hoping that there was enough room in the safe for what wasn't on display, and details too numerous to describe here. A few customers had come in now and then, and Evan went to handle the possible transactions, always returning to continue wherever they left off talking. By the time they had finished with the preliminary details, it was past 7PM.

Evan gasped when he saw the time. "I've got to lock up. Would you like to go to dinner? There is a nice European style restaurant down by the Opera House. The food is good and the price is reasonable."

Ryo thought that it would be a good idea; the ride home on an empty stomach didn't appeal to him. And it would be nice just to socialize and not talk business with this old family friend. They parted ways around 9PM, Evan heading home and Ryo heading for his car to go home. For Ryo it had been a long but enlightening day.

When Ryo arrived home Dee was already asleep on the sofa and Bikky was still playing video games in his room. Bikky came out to get the details of the day.

Ryo headed for the fridge and poured himself a glass of orange juice. "Mr. D'Arcy is a very good man, and he has offered to help me sell the items. But he also offered me a partnership and a share in the business. I accepted. It will mean that for a while I will be losing one of the days off a week that I have, but I think I can handle it."

A bleary eyed Dee staggered into the kitchen. "You can handle what? And you sure took your time getting back here. It's almost midnight!"

Ryo glanced at his watch – Dee was right. It was that late. "Bikky, time for bed. We'll talk more about this tomorrow. I still have some thinking to do."

Bikky grumbled, but wandered off to his bedroom after saying goodnight.

"What'cha got to think about? Anything I can help with?" Dee leaned over and gave Ryo a kiss.

"Let me get a shower first, and then we'll talk, OK? It's been a long ride and a longer day filled with surprises. For as late as it is I'm not really tired yet. I've got too much on my mind to think of sleep."

When Ryo exited the bathroom after taking his shower all the lights were off except for the small night table light in his bedroom. On entering the room he found Dee sprawled on the bed, thumbing through the novel Ryo was currently reading.

"Damn, Ryo, don't you get enough of the crime stories at work? Do you have to read them at home too? You got some sort of crime fetish going that I don't know about?"

"Hey, put my book down. And don't lose my bookmark." Ryo placed his dirty clothes in the hamper before climbing into bed.

"You're getting very daring – getting into my bed like that."

Dee put down the novel and rolled to face Ryo. "Bed is the best place to talk things out. So how did the day go? Evidently very well by the time you spent there."

"Evan, Mr. D'Arcy, is a very nice man. He is a respectable merchant and has offered me an astonishing deal. It seems my dear Aunt visited him right after New Years and filled him full of praises for me. He even knew about Bikky and the orphanage. To put it bluntly, he wants to make me his heir, so to speak, and to have me take over the shop once he's gone."

Dee reached over and moved a strand of Ryo's hair from his eyes. Even with the excitement in Ryo's voice, he could hear the strain. "That is some heavy stuff. Is this what you think you can handle?" Ryo didn't seem to notice that the hand had then moved down to rest on his waist.

"Yeah, and it entails some sacrifices. At first, I'll have to spend some time up there, learning all the contacts Evan has, and what new contacts would be most beneficial to the shop. He has little knowledge of Asian art, one of my favorite subjects, and would love to branch out to include it. I'll need to brush up on the finer details, but most of it is still fresh in my mind. Once I can get established I can do a lot of the work using the computer."

Dee pulled Ryo slightly closer, feeling the tension as he did so. "You're pretty tensed up. Want a massage?"

"We both know what your massages lead up to."

Dee sensed victory and grinned. "You admitted that you're tired but can't sleep, so you need relaxing. Is a massage that bad, even if it leads to you-know-what?"

Ryo smiled. Dee was a perfect distraction from the new worries he had acquired. "No, not really."

Dee went to the bathroom to get some oil, and when he returned Ryo had rolled onto his stomach. He could see that Ryo was still very alert, sleep still not able to overcome all the events of the day. Dee straddled his body and poured a bit of oil into his hands. Warming it first he started on the shoulders, and could feel the tenseness in Ryo. Driving that much in one day probably added to the tension, and he could feel the relaxation start to take over the body. By the time he had reached Ryo's waist, the muscles had relaxed and Ryo was looking a bit drowsy.

"I love you, Ryo." Dee slid off of Ryo and spooned in behind him, now caressing the front of Ryo's body.

Ryo felt the familiar shape of his lover's body, down to his manhood now rapidly increasing in size. He snuggled back, massaging the swollen member with his lower body. "I love you too. Turn off the light."

 


	8. Past Meets Present

Ryo was sleeping fitfully – this was the third time he had woken, and it wasn't even 2AM yet. He sat up and sighed. He couldn't blame it on the weather; they were in the midst of a cool spell, so rare for even the beginning of July. He didn't know what was causing the lack of sleep. Maybe it was the memories that were bothering him, things he had forgotten that were begging to be remembered.

A slight movement from Dee caught his attention. Dee was laying with his back to him, facing the window, his bangs trailing across his eyes. Ryo's hand hovered above Dee's face, ready to push the wayward hairs out of his eyes, but then fell back to his lap. He didn't have the heart to touch and possibly wake him. The light from the almost full moon spilled through the windows and highlighted his features, bringing out the little boy that was always present in him.

_It's been over a year now, and the thrill still hasn't waned. You've_ _awakened such strong passions in me, given me your heart and along with it your soul. Thank you, love. I've given you the same in return, and truly hope I can live up to all your expectations._

Silently and carefully Ryo left the bed, grabbing his slippers and keys before leaving the bedroom. The events of the day still weighed heavily on his mind. He headed for the roof, his favorite thinking spot when the weather was willing.

There were few safe places in the city where one could readily go to enjoy the night sky, apartment rooftops being the main ones. Being able to converse with nature on a daily basis – Ryo missed that the most from his childhood. In the city you were lucky to see a tree that wasn't damaged either by the locals or the pollution. He was used to large, natural areas with fields and forests and streams. Here you had fields of trash, forests of concrete, and streams of people. One day he'd retire and go back – and with the help of an unlikely benefactor that was actually a possibility now.

Almost every spare moment lately had been used to brush up on identifying antique pieces and learning all the new sources in the field to get up to speed in the art trade. Right now Ryo's head was about to explode from all the information he had just fed it. He knew that he needed a break from the intense study, so he had put together an overstuffed picnic basket and gathered Bikky, Carol, and Dee for an impromptu trip to Central Park. The weather was perfect, with just enough clouds in the sky to keep the summer heat down. A light breeze added to the cooling factor, and made it quite an enjoyable afternoon. By the time they were ready to head home, the sun was beginning to set.

Their walk and outing in the park today had brought back memories of time spent with his parents at a private lodge, Whispering Pines, in the Lake Minnewaska area, just south of the Catskills. They would visit there frequently for day trips since it was a fairly short drive from their home. But they would also spend a weeklong vacation there several times during the warmer months, renting a cabin on the lake shore and enjoying the time they could all be together.

Home. It had become an alien word to Ryo. He'd not been back to his hometown since the funerals. He had been close, within 5 miles, but that was on the other side of the river and strictly for the business venture. Maybe now though he had healed enough to visit the area. His aunt said the house had been sold within six months of that frightful Christmas Eve. The family had kept the money from the sale, saying it was legally theirs, that Randy wasn't old enough to inherit that kind of money, being only 18 and still in school. Or so they had insisted. The same was said when they sold the art shop in Poughkeepsie and all the stock. They wouldn't even put it in trust for Randy to inherit whenever they deemed that he was 'old enough'. She called them vultures and after all this time, and with all he had learned of his 'loving family' through Leo, he had to agree with her one hundred percent.

Ryo had intensified the scrutiny of his estranged family after studying the reports Leo had given him. Being a law enforcement official and a detective gave him access to information channels not normally available to the general public, and some of the things he had found really angered him. To hell with the MacLeans. All they did was raise his blood pressure. They weren't worth thinking about; he had a new family much more worthy of his efforts.

The more he thought about it the more he really wanted to take his family to the Lodge. Of all of them, only he had ever spent a lot of time camping in a natural setting. Bikky and Carol had been to summer camps, but those camps just by their nature weren't as rustic, nor did they offer the closeness of being together as a family. Neither had really expressed joy with the camps, and Ryo felt very sad when they said that. How could children grow up not enjoying the beauty of nature? Here in New York City they had Central Park; it's nice but it's no more than a snow globe in the middle of a concrete hell. And even then, it's one park that you shouldn't loiter in after dark.

The fact that they never had been in the woods, camping, hiking, fishing – just enjoying nature in general – made the trip all the more important. Dee had heard of cabin lodges, but he too was a city child. Once he was on his own, he never really ventured outside the New York City limits other than to visit a few of the more northern New Jersey shore points. Ryo was the total opposite; a country child that had only once been to a bona fide amusement park. _I wonder what kinds of rides he liked?_ Closing his eyes, he tried to visualize Dee on a roller coaster. He could see him, his satiny dark hair being blown by the wind, both hands in the air as the coaster started down, yelling to his heart's content. Just like a little kid.

Once again his thoughts had drifted to Dee, putting a small smile on his face. How he filled his mind anymore. There was always something in the background of his thoughts reminding him of Dee. What nationality was he? Hispanic, Latino, Italian, Greek? They were all possibilities. Maybe, no, in all probability he _was_ a bastard child. The way he was wrapped and clothed when found in that alley indicated it was the mother who had left him behind. What other than religion would give the mother no choice but to surrender him once she was found out? The shame of an illegitimate birth was not something you placed on your family. Since he wasn't a newborn when abandoned, she evidently had tried to keep him, but most likely parted with him either just before or right after the family found out. Did fear of religious retribution overweigh the inhumanity of leaving an infant in an alley on a cold October night?

Ryo had no chosen religion. Between his Japanese mother with Shinto beliefs and his Scottish-American father with Presbyterian beliefs he was free to choose whatever he wished to follow, even if it was neither of their chosen religions. He had read up on a few of the more peaceful religions, but never did feel comfortable with any specific one.

Dee must have been a really good actor as a child for no one to chance adopting him. Either that or he was so afraid of being abandoned again it made him run from the prospective parents, or to give them a reason for not wanting him. From the pictures he had seen of Dee as a child, his looks were just as hypnotic then as they are now. Even the old black and white photos couldn't hide his captivating features, the mischief dancing in his eyes. He looked much more Latino in the youngest pictures of him. Maybe that was also part of the hindrance. Hardly anyone adopted Latino children, or for that matter any children not of the 'pure white' background when he was a child. Those that did adopt minority children usually did so for egotistical, less than noble reasons. And there were so few families with the means and acceptable background to adopt back then.

Dee was not only intelligent, he was smart. He hadn't changed in that aspect – even back then, from the stories that Mother Maria told, Dee knew how to use his looks and intelligence to get what he wanted. But a little thought in the back of Ryo's mind kept saying, ' _Mother Maria didn't want him to go either – he was 'God's gift' to her.'_ From the first time he met her he felt that Dee was special to her. Maybe it was how he was abandoned, maybe it was where he was left, maybe he looked like someone she knew – he didn't know what it was but _something_ made Dee special. He couldn't ask her about this though; if it were true it would embarrass her to be caught in such a sin – the original sin – the sin of self. Even now there was such a strong bond between them – as if they actually were related. But blood isn't always the strongest tie – love can form much stronger ties. From his knowledge of his distant family, Ryo knew for sure that was true.

Suddenly Ryo felt the presence of another body close to his. Dee had joined him on the roof, and was standing next to him clad just in his boxers. "What's up? Is something bothering you? You were flipping and flopping something terrible in the bed." Dee offered Ryo his bottle of water as he sat next to him.

"Thanks", he said, taking the bottle from Dee. "I just got a lot of memories stirred up from our trip to the park today. Things I haven't thought about in years. And a few other thoughts got mixed in there too. I don't know if I like the fact that I'm the only one who had a happy childhood."

"Who said you were the only one? I had a happy childhood. Maybe not in your eyes, but in mine it was good. Mother loved me, and all the others. We may not have had the latest and greatest of toys, or closets full of high-fashion clothes, but we knew that we were loved. I'd rather have that than some random life with strangers." At that Dee went silent, a frown on his face hinted that his mind was on past events.

"You rarely talk of your younger days at the orphanage. I just assumed you'd rather not remember them." After taking a swig Ryo passed the bottle back to Dee.

The frown disappeared only to be replaced with a pensive look. "Ah, it wasn't bad, it was just like being from a really large family, except the family members tended to change every so often. Kinda like today's families with the ever changing Moms or Dads that come packaged with new brothers and sisters. We had our squabbles over who got the dump truck that day, or who was on which baseball team. But we did have fun. We teased the girls of course, but God Bless anyone who tried to hurt them.

"We were a pretty set bunch, at least the boys were. The babies always seemed to be the first choices for adoption, and then the younger girls. Once we hit school age we boys weren't good enough to be adopted." Dee dropped his gaze to his hands, again reflecting back to those times from the past.

Ryo sensed that Dee might finally be willing to talk about those times, and pressed ahead. "That's the first time you've ever mentioned any type of interaction with prospective parents. Seems you didn't have too good an opinion of them, eh? Why do you say that the boys weren't good enough to be adopted?"

Dee looked up, staring off into the darkness. "Every time there was a prospective adoption visitation, we'd have a handful of couples that came to examine the offered goods – us kids. Some of those women that came to find a child scared me, and every one of them smelled of too much perfume and heavy makeup, each one too anxious to squeeze and kiss every one of us in the line. I got scared by the, _'Oh, what a cute little fella!'_ being shrilly voiced by these women. And not one had the look that was in Mother's eyes. They really didn't care about me."

Dee thought for a moment, carefully arranging his thoughts before continuing. "I don't think you'd like it either, being dressed in the best clothes, lined up with the other children, told to smile and look your best when the adults passed by you, being stroked by fancy manicured hands, being looked down upon by the husbands..."

Dee's eyes flashed. "The husbands – they were the worst. Wasn't as bad for the girls, but for the boys all you were to them was someone to carry on their name. They would scrutinize you like a piece of marble, looking for any cracks or flaws, any little chinks that might embarrass them should they decide to take you home. A few would smile and shake your hand, but most just glared. I hated it when the 'shoppers' came. That's what we called them, the prospective parents. And we were the groceries." Dee emptied the bottle then crushed it in his hands.

"If I found out ahead of time that they were coming, no one could find me until they left." Dee laughed sarcastically. "I had this hiding spot in the basement – in some boxes beside the furnace. Mother eventually caught on to this and gave me a severe tongue-lashing. But then she held me close and said she understood. I never wanted to leave her. She was the only one that had love for **me** in her eyes. The only one..."

Ryo looked at Dee. He had his head down, and what looked like a possible tear following the crease by his nose. He was right about the tight bond between Dee and Mother. Reaching over and taking Dee's hand he whispered, "But now you have a family, and we love you too. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that no one loves you."

Dee turned and looked at Ryo, ignoring the tear as it ran down the side of his face. "I love you so much Ryo, you just don't know how much."

Ryo kissed the tear away. "Yes I do. Every bit as much as I love you. C'mon, let's go back down love, and go back to bed."

#=#=#=#=#

It was the middle of summer vacation and somehow they had managed to have two days off in a row, together. Granted they were weekdays, but that better suited Ryo's plans. Although Dee wasn't absolutely thrilled about it, he had talked him into a short vacation trip with both Bikky and Carol. What had finally convinced him was the fact that Carol's 16th birthday was next week, and it would be nice for all of them to be together as a family for once. He didn't give him any real details as to where they were going, just that they would be off early in the morning. Even with the weekday traffic it would take a little over 2 hours to get where they were going.

Ryo gave him a list of foods and other items they needed to bring. Dee scratched his head and complained that this looked like a camping trip to him, and he that hated the outdoors and the bugs that ruled there. Ryo admitted it was something like that, but not to worry – he would not be a buffet for the bugs, promising Dee that he would enjoy himself. The only bug he would have to endure was the love bug.

Ryo had easily remembered the name of the Lodge where his folks had rented a cabin every year, and the name of the people that ran it. Taking the chance that the lodge was still there, he checked online and found that the Whispering Pines Lodge was listed, and to his surprise it was still run by the same people. After a short debate on what to do, he phoned them. They did remember him, and towards the end of a long phone call that included exchanging condolences and a few fond reminiscences from the past, Ryo asked if he could come up and visit with them. He had some things he would like to discuss, and possibly even rent a cabin.

#=#=#=#=#

Greta and Heinz Reinhardt, though now in their late 60s, looked much as Ryo remembered. The country living evidently agreed with them. Either that or the lack of stress from city living never had a chance to taint this couple. Even though their grown children had taken over quite a few of the duties, both Greta and Heinz insisted on doing most of the minor daily chores that they had done for years.

Greta was a plump older lady, her hair more silver now, but still pulled back into a bun. She dressed simply - a white apron covered her blue gingham dress and sturdy brown oxfords covered her feet. She truly loved dealing with the families that came to the Lodge, always trying to be there to greet them when they arrived, and to see them off when they left.

Heinz was still a very muscular man, his face and arms were well tanned from working in the sun. With his wiry white hair and a short mustache he gave the impression of being quite strong despite his advancing age. You could often find him patrolling the grounds with his tractor and cart, clearing dead wood and debris from the Lodge property.

As Ryo walked toward the main building, Greta spotted him. She rushed out to the porch and immediately threw her arms around him, stating that she would know him anywhere. Holding him in a warm hug and after planting a noisy kiss on his cheek, she was rewarded with a return kiss, but with a bit more decorum. Heinz had followed behind her, and was currently chuckling at Ryo as he tried to politely free himself from her stronghold.

After extricating himself from Greta he shared a warm handshake and gentlemanly hug with Heinz who also stated that he hadn't changed much in the 14 years since they last saw him. Greta immediately ushered Ryo into the kitchen, seating him at the table. The scent of something baking filled the air.

Greta asked, "Do you prefer tea?" Ryo nodded and she began preparations for the refreshments. Laughing at the site in front of him, Heinz had followed behind Greta as she piloted Ryo to the table and then he sat in the chair across from Ryo.

From their previous phone conversation, the Reinhardts had insisted that Ryo use their first names. To them Mr. and Mrs. Reinhardt was just too formal for the peaceful atmosphere of the Lodge. Heinz picked up the conversation by asking Ryo whether he enjoyed his work. To him it seemed that Ryo had missed out on his calling in life, the art world, and said as much. Ryo sighed pensively before answering.

"Up until that Christmas I had no doubts about my future; I would follow behind my parents and continue their work in the shop. But after that Christmas I rarely allowed myself to even think about what I had wanted to do. There was no way I could follow that path, not then. All I could think about was what I had to do. I had to clear my parents, and not just because of the other MacLeans. I had to bring justice to the guilty. I had to right all the wrongs in the case." Ryo looked up, smiling. "I may have been a bit over-optimistic about my abilities at the time, but it got done. I didn't have as much involvement as I wished, but I was there to see the successful conclusion."

"And I collected a bonus that I didn't expect – I got a chance to start an education fund for orphaned children, thanks to an unexpected source. That same benefactor made it possible for me to have in my possession enough merchandise to light the fire again, to make me want to get back into the art world. But I can't quit as a police officer, I've gotten too deep into that career to walk out. I have the people of New York City that depend on my doing my job to the best of my ability, and I will not disappoint them.

Heinz nodded "You never were a quitter. Remember when you tried to paddle your first canoe? You got so frustrated about going in circles, but yet you didn't quit. I expected to see you jump out of the canoe and tow it back to shore. It took you a while, but you didn't come back in until you had mastered that canoe. Or was it that you couldn't get back to shore?"

Ryo gave a small laugh and wistful smile, the episode was firmly etched in his memory too. How long ago had that been? He was maybe nine or ten at the time? "I didn't know I was being watched! But I wasn't going to let some inanimate object get the best of me. I just kept trying different combinations until it did what I wanted. And I beat it!" Both men chuckled, remembering some of the maneuvers the canoe had gone through.

Heinz smiled at Ryo. "I never took my eyes off a beginner when they were in the water, even if they did wear a life jacket. And you were so determined to get that canoe to go straight... you'd paddle then stop, change tactics and then paddle some more. You must have been out there for over an hour, just going in circles." Both men began to laugh again.

When Greta finished assembling the tea and treats Ryo was surprised to see that the tea was the same brand that his parents drank. It wasn't an exotic tea, but it wasn't your normal off-the-shelf brand either. Had she remembered after all this time, or did both families have the same taste in tea? The peach cobbler was definitely homemade, maybe even using locally grown fruits. It had been a long time since he had tasted anything this good, and complimented her on her baking skills.

They continued the conversation started on the phone, Greta happily chattering away, trying to catch Ryo up on all that had happened in the past 14 years. She finally asked Ryo about meeting his family. Seeing the slight blush on Ryo's face she apologized for intruding into his personal life. Ryo smiled at her.

"No, don't apologize. The main reason I came here is to make sure that my family is welcome. My family is not the type of family that immediately comes to mind, and I think I need to explain first. This is to be a special trip to celebrate Carol's 16th birthday, and show the kids what nature really looks like. I want it to be like a normal family gathering."

Greta looked a bit confused, as did Heinz. Both had noticed the age of the young girl, so realized that this child was not his offspring. She asked, "What could possibly make us not want to make them welcome? They are your family!"

Ryo took a deep breath, before continuing. "You obviously know that I am a police detective. What you don't know is that I have an adopted son, a young man I met on my first case in New York City. He was ten at the time; his father had just been murdered as a result of involvement in a bad drug deal. His name is Bikky, he's 13 now, and he is of mixed races, black and white. His mother was shot and killed in a robbery when he was about four. His father didn't keep too good an eye on him and he has quite a juvenile delinquent record, though lately it has gotten much better."

Heinz smiled and spoke up. "Now that wouldn't be because you're taking care of him, would it?"

Ryo shrugged his shoulders, but smiled. "I keep hoping so. I also help take care of a young girl, Carol, one of Bikky's friends. Her father also was a criminal. She also had a few brushes with the law while collecting the bail money she needed for her father release. He was terminally ill and wanted to go home so I helped Carol get him released on bail. He died soon after he was released, but those few months were precious to them. The mother deserted them when the father was first incarcerated, so Carol now lives with her Aunt Elina, her father's sister."

Greta looked at Ryo with love in her eyes. "Such unfortunate children, but you are such a good boy to care for them. I bet they are darling children, and very lucky to have a father such as you. Have you a lady love that will be coming along too?"

Ryo sighed, he thought that this question would be asked eventually. "No, I don't. But my partner from the precinct, Dee Laytner, will be coming with us. He, ah, he helps me out with the kids." Ryo smiled, wondering if he should tell them exactly how much of a partner Dee was. He didn't remember them as being prudish, and they didn't blink an eye when he mentioned Bikky being of mixed races, nor the fact that both the children were the offspring from and with criminal backgrounds. Perhaps...

Heinz studied Ryo, sensing that something important went unsaid, possibly something to do with his partner. Heinz decided to not press it and grinned, "Ah, another police officer? We sure will feel secure while you two are around." Ryo immediately assured them that they would not be carrying their weapons, that this was to be a vacation of sorts for them.

Ryo decided that he needed to know if they would accept him. These people had known him from childhood, and knew his parents well. Gathering up all his courage and glancing between the two friendly faces, he spoke, "Heinz, Greta, you asked whether I had someone special. Yes, I do have someone, but that someone is male. My partner Dee and I are life partners, and we intend to marry one day. Am I still welcome?" He silently held his breath.

It only took a split second for the Reinhardts to understand what Ryo was saying and for Heinz to state in a very matter-of-fact tone of voice, "So what does that have to do with you staying here?" After taking Ryo's hand in hers, Greta nodded in agreement.

Ryo finally exhaled, a mixture of relief and happiness in his eyes. "You don't mind? It won't bother you to have homosexuals staying here?"

Heinz smiled at Ryo. "Why should it? It's your life. I always had my doubts about you. You never brought a girlfriend when all the other guys did. Never ever even spoke of a girl, nor bothered with the ones you met here. You were polite to them, but brushed off the ones that went after you. At first I thought it was because you were just too studious, but now I can see that it was just your true nature."

Ryo didn't know what to say. Why hadn't he noticed the tendencies back then if it was obvious to others around him? Was Dee right and he _was_ that dense?

Heinz smiled smugly, seeing that Ryo was carefully reflecting on his words. "And anyway, you won't be the first gays to stay here. We've had others."

When all was said and done, Ryo had arranged a cabin for the two days they had off. Luckily it was during the week – during the summer the Lodge was booked solid on weekends with escaping New Yorkers. Greta had even volunteered to bake a cake for Carol, stating that a young girl's 16th birthday should be special.

#=#=#=#=#

They had packed most of the luggage in the car the night before. All they had to add was the one cooler in the trunk and they would be off. Bikky, of course, was grumpy because it was 'way too early to get up', according to him. The pigeons weren't even awake yet.

Ryo smiled inwardly. Wait until he hears the owls, frogs, and all the other fun animals that frequented a lake in the woods. That should keep him awake half the night!

Despite his earlier grumblings, Bikky got interested once he saw that they rented canoes. At camp they weren't allowed to take out the canoes, at least not alone. The camp leader would take them out in groups to teach them how to paddle. And once you learned, there was a strict set of rules as to what you could do and where you could go, and you definitely couldn't go alone.

The swimming area here was set up in several spots around the lake, one of which was strictly for toddlers. There was a rustic setting that had several rope and tire swings, and there were a few kids there already testing them out. And all were far from the fishing areas.

Once they arrived at the cabin and unloaded the car, Ryo left the others to settle things in the cabin while he checked in with the Reinhardts. They had given him a fairly secluded cabin not too far off the lake. He was silently grateful that they did not reserve the cabin he and his folks had always used. He had thought about that when he confirmed the cabin reservation, but felt foolish about calling them with such a question. This one was in a different location and a bit larger one, probably since he said that there would be four of them for this trip. If all went well, they would make a later reservation for two.

As he slowly walked up the dirt road, the sound of the dirt and gravel under his feet caused memories of past visits to flood his mind. He missed this more than he wanted to admit. The air was fresher, there was no traffic noise, and the breeze was cool. The tensions from work couldn't stand up to the relaxing feeling he got from walking in the woods. The thoughts of retiring to this area were getting stronger with every visit to this part of New York. Poughkeepsie and Evan's shop were less than a half hour away.

The lake wasn't big when compared to others in the area. The Reinhardts only allowed swimming and non-motorized watercraft in their lake; fishing was allowed from the boats or along the shore, but only in the northern part of the lake, well away from the swimmers. There was a tiny island near the middle – the goal of his infamous canoe training. He remembered the cave by the lake where he would go when it rained, watching the patterns on the lake as the raindrops fell, listening to the sound of the rain slowly making its way through the dense canopy hours after it rained. And the field at the top of the hiking trail that was full of all kinds of wild flowers, swaying in the breeze, bees and butterflies mixing with the heavy floral scent in the air. He wondered if the beavers were still on the south-western end of the lake, where it was extremely swampy. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by his family running up behind him.

Together they all met Greta and Heinz at the top of the road. Greta immediately singled out the kids, hugging and welcoming them to Whispering Pines.

Ryo introduced Dee to Heinz as Detective Laytner, his partner at the 27th precinct. Dee came over to shake hands with Heinz, nervously glancing toward Ryo as there was something odd about how he said 'partner'. Heinz was a sharp old man, catching the glance. "Your hand is shaking Detective Laytner. You're nervous about something? Or shouldn't I ask?" He looked Dee straight in the eye, but he never lost the warm smile.

"Just call me Dee, everyone else does. This is the first time I've met anyone from Ryo's past, other than his aunt and uncle. Just a bit anxious, I guess; there are lots of things I don't know about my partner." Dee replied, smiling back at the astute gentleman.

By now Greta had joined the men, waiting to be introduced.

"Greta, Heinz, this is my partner, Dee Laytner."

Greta was all over Dee. "He's so handsome! And this is all yours? Oh Randy, you have a beautiful family. A beautiful daughter, a handsome son, and this gorgeous hunk of man here... I even think your parents would approve."

"But maybe they'd be a little surprised, Greta. I don't think they foresaw this for their son, but I can't see them disapproving of them either." Turning to face the two men he smiled, adding "Don't worry; you're both welcome here any time you want to come. We're not phobic. And Ryo, it's just good to see you happy after all that's happened."

Greta smiled warmly. "Your parents were very good people. And yes dears, you are both welcome, as well as those two lovely children of yours." She gave Ryo and Dee each another kiss on the cheek, then turned back to the kids and called, "Bikky, Carol, lets go get some drinks for everyone. You come along too, Heinz."

Dee was astonished – he couldn't believe what he was hearing. By the comments made by Greta, he knew that Ryo had explained their personal situation to these people. He thought it would take a bit more time for Ryo to come to this point, to open his relationship to others. He definitely didn't expect it to be this soon, much less to old family friends. He turned to Ryo, questions in his eyes. "I guess there are more than a few things I don't know about you."

Ryo caught the look on Dee's face and smiled. Taking Dee's hand in his he held it tightly in both hands. "I was going to tell you earlier, but I couldn't figure out how. Yes, I told them. I didn't want to hide anything. While it may not be every one that accepts us, I want to at least try to gain support from those I want to keep around us. I want to be able to return here, as just us. Things are changing in the world; today we can be accepted as true partners in a strong relationship. We are able to marry now; although not in our state[1]. I want to share with you, be with you in our personal time, and not hide.

Dee looked at Ryo with understanding in his eyes. "You're amazing, do you know that?" And he leaned in to give Ryo a soft kiss.

#=#=#=#=#

They sat at the outdoor table on the Reinhardt's patio, sipping the hand squeezed lemonade that Greta had made, discussing nothing really in particular, comparing country to city and all things in between. The kids had found the pamphlets in the information boxes that were scattered throughout the area. The pamphlets mapped out all the points of interest around the grounds, including the swimming and hiking areas, and immediately the two wanted to go exploring. Ryo was hesitant at first, but Dee told them to go exploring, but to take some water and a first aid kit with them and to be back by six to get ready for dinner. Catching the questioning look on Ryo's face he commented to Ryo that it had never hurt him, so it must be safe for them too. Both Greta and Heinz smiled at the fatherly interactions of the two men with the children.

Ryo and Dee made their leave about a half hour later, after accepting the Reinhardts' invitation to dinner that night. As they walked down the dirt road back to the cabin, Dee put his arm around Ryo's waist and pulled him close.

"You really surprised me when you outed yourself. That took some guts, especially since they know you from your past and all. How did you know that they would accept us?"

"I didn't; I just decided that I have to be honest with myself. When I arranged the cabin they weren't bothered in the slightest by Bikky or Carol's background, so I took a chance. And I don't remember them ever being prejudicial; they were always very kind to anyone here at the Lodge. Even when they had a troublemaker they didn't swear or lose their tempers. What surprised me was what they said just now about my parents. I didn't expect a comment like that, but I suppose I can trust their judgment since they knew them for many years. We were fairly regular here; several times a year we rented a cabin. "

"I'm becoming more at ease with being homosexual. Don't worry, I won't be outing myself to everyone; I'm just testing one or two at a time to gather reactions, people I feel I can trust. Even at the shop I'm meeting a lot of new acquaintances, most that I probably won't ever confide in. But I won't lie to them if asked. I've told Evan and he's fine with it. In fact one of my old school chums has a business nearby and he's gay too. It's time I give the past its own burial, and start building my real life."

Dee looked at Ryo, admiration in his eyes. "You've grown up and matured a lot since last year, and put a lot of grief to rest. I think the closure of that part of your life has allowed you to concentrate solely on the here and now. It's something you've needed for a while. Now, how's about we check out the area and see if you can remember any nice spots where we can hide and have a little fun, um? We're here for two days and two nights, right? We just have to leave real early the last morning. Good thing we're on second shift when we go back."

Ryo grabbed Dee's hand and started pulling him down the path. "Come on – we have some time to ourselves before the kids return. I want to show you the cave on the north side of the lake. We'll grab some water from the cabin on the way."


	9. New Beginnings

After placing his reading glasses on the desk, Ryo reached out and pressed the 'save' button; another purchasing report was done. He stood and ran through a short series of stretching exercises; he had forgotten exactly how much sedentary work was involved with running a business. When he first decided to assist in running the Antique Renaissance shop with an old family friend, Evan D'Arcy, he didn't count on the many hours he would spend sitting in front of the computer. Even after almost two years it still amazed him at how much paperwork was needed for just one single item.

It had been lots of hard work and sacrifices, and not all on his part. Both Dee and Bikky had to accept that Ryo's time was now being shared with a third entity – his childhood dream to work in the art world. At times Ryo regretted not being able to do all that he wanted with his newly formed family, but they never openly expressed any regret at his now limited time with them, which made him feel a bit better, although he realized that at times they did feel left out. That was just human nature, and he tried to compensate for this as much as possible. They both wholeheartedly backed his decision to make his dream come true, and they had even offered to help in any way if they could. Getting a sincere offer like that from a 13 year old in this day and age was nearly impossible.

Bikky's school work was the top priority, right after his detective work – Evan knew that and accepted it wholeheartedly. He needed Ryo's expertise in the Chinese antiquities field, a field that Evan was sorely lacking in knowledge, but one that he knew to be a very hot area in the antique trade right now, and one of Ryo's favorite eras. Most anything Asian crafted and old was in demand, and the older the better.

When he and Evan started working together Ryo had placed most of the items he had inherited with Evan to sell. With as quickly as the netsuke[1] sold, Evan realized that there was definitely an interest in the local area for Asian art pieces; even the African carvings and the Indian brass figurines sold out fast. Evan felt it would be prudent to follow this line of goods for the shop, and thus Ryo had his first duty as a partner in Antique Renaissance – find new stock.

It had evolved into a monthly chore; Evan would send a list of items desired by certain customers, Ryo would search them out and purchase them. Very rarely was he unable to find a suitable item for someone's wish list. His ability to find these items had generated a stronger customer base for the shop, increasing revenues for the pair by almost 25%.

He had spent most of the first year just introducing himself and getting a good, solid reputation with the major suppliers of art goods in the New York area, through in person interviews and over the internet. Quite a few of them had done business with his parents, and were quite surprised to find the son entering the field this late in the game. He only explained the full circumstances to a few of the suppliers, the ones he knew personally from his childhood and that knew most of the circumstances surrounding the MacLean family. The others received a very abridged version.

Presently he was concentrating on honing his skills in ancient Chinese artifacts of the Ming Dynasty, his parents and now his favorite era. He was glad that he had never gotten rid of his textbooks from all those art classes he took in college. Right now they were a valuable refresher course. All showed signs of heavy use, and multicolored tabs jutted out from all the edges of the books. He spent most of his spare time renewing his knowledge of the arts and getting updates on what was not available in his old text books. The internet had proven invaluable for most of his searches.

His library of art books had increased lately; quite a bit of new information about Chinese antiquities had become available since China had opened it borders to the outside world. For the longest time, most of the truly authoritative books weren't available outside of China. Should you be fortunate enough to find a copy of one of these books they were not in English – translation was needed.

It was almost 10PM and he had early shift tomorrow, so it was time to turn off the computer and head to bed. He would have to get Bikky ready for school before he left, and on early shift it was harder to get Bikky up, since he had to rouse him over an hour before normal. But just as he was about to hit the switch, an email alert flashed, and it was from Evan. He debated whether to open it or wait until tomorrow. But normally Evan didn't send messages this late, so he decided to read it.

Ryo read the email several times to make sure that he hadn't read anything wrong. Sothebys had picked up the estate of an elderly British earl and just released the catalog for inspection. He had heard rumors of this collection, but so far no specific data had been confirmed. There were several Chinese pieces for which Evan wanted a more detailed description. He included the link to the catalog and a list of item numbers. He also asked Ryo to include any items not on his list that he felt were worthwhile, since he was not an expert in this style of art by any stretch of the imagination.

It took only seconds to find the items, and they were magnificent. If they kept close to the prices that Sothebys expected to receive – which not always happened – several of them would be excellent choices for the shop. Since it was so late he would postpone writing up acceptable price ranges for each piece until tomorrow night, but he did email Evan that there were indeed several potential bargains in the lot. After making a few quick notes about the particular items he shut down the computer and readied for bed.

When he finally got into bed, he found that sleep was eluding him. The images from the catalog danced in front of him, teasing him into wanting a closer examination. Was this how it was for his parents? Did they lose sleep when a new treasure was within their grasp? Although they only travelled world-wide two or three times a year, they had always regretted leaving Ryo home with either his aunt or a hired sitter. But he remembered the excitement in their eyes when they were about to embark on another trip to gather new trinkets and treasures. They only bought objects d'art – no jewelry or furniture – too many others traded in those forms of antiques. That's why he liked Evan's shop; it was very much like that of his parents when it came to what stock he kept – strictly smaller, ornamental pieces, true treasures and keepsakes.

As he got older, he was able to share in the excitement. Once the new stock arrived, as a family they would go to the shop for the grand unveiling of the new stock. He remembered how much he enjoyed this time with his parents. They would often retell the story behind how they had obtained some of the items; how they got lucky by being caught in the rain and ducking into a small shop, how they helped someone and were rewarded with a small family heirloom in return, or just being in the right place at the right time netted a treasure. Each piece seemed to have its own unique story.

Often the three of them would work long into the wee hours of the weekend just setting up the new displays, rearranging the old ones to incorporate the new, changing the lighting and backdrops to highlight a specific piece. When they were done each object was shown to its optimum. Some of the kids thought he was a bit strange, wanting to work on the weekends rather than hang around with them at the local teen spots. But to Ryo, these were the happiest of times. Ryo finally drifted off to sleep with those memories of his parents' shop in his mind.

Ryo always checked his email first thing in the morning. He didn't like the idea of something important not being noticed for several hours. In fact, he tried to get to it three or four times a day. Since that fateful Christmas windfall over two years ago, there was now so much going on in his life that he couldn't let anything get away from him. Already this morning there was an email from Fusao. Fusao was one of his newly found cousins in Japan.

It had taken a few months after sifting through the names and emails in the treasured photo album, but finally almost all of the relatives listed in the album had been located. All had known of the murders, but few had any more details than that. It was mainly the MacLeans that had the full story, and probably because there was little in the way of a language barrier.

Ryo found the first Japanese relative that responded to be fairly fluent in English, much to his relief. Morigiwa Fusao in proper Japanese fashion, or Fusao Morigiwa in the English speaking world, was a very likeable young man. He was the son of Ryo's aunt, his mother's older sister, and he remembered his mother talking about them. The original email had been sent to the father, but he spoke little English and forwarded the email to his son for translation. Since Fusao had never excelled in the English classes in high school, he was currently studying English to help further his chosen career as a textile exporter. His family ran a textile factory and was trying to branch out into overseas markets, and so far several companies in America were very interested in their products.

Fusao was five years older than Ryo, and very intelligent and free spirited. Not only did he finally get introduced to his part-American cousin, he now had an English speaking pen-pal to fine tune his use of the American flavor of English. They now communicated on a regular basis, at least once a week. Sometimes Fusao would send a draft of a communication written for a prospective client, asking Ryo to proofread it and make corrections if he had stated something improperly. In fact, over the year and a half that they had corresponded, Ryo had seen marked improvement in Fusao's use of American English.

Once he had determined that Fusao was a really close relative, Ryo sent the list of Japanese names and addresses to him so he could see if how many could be located. When Fusao received the list, he sent it back in just a few days listing emails for most everyone on the list, although a lot were marked 'Japanese only'. A few had died, but for the most part the family members were alive and healthy. Once all the details had been circulated through the family, many heartfelt letters, cards, and memorial items arrived, sent by relatives to share their grief with the sole survivor of this distant member of the family. All were overjoyed to hear from the long-missing American son of the MacLean family.

Through all the grief felt on both sides of the ocean, a link had been formed. Many had been afraid that he was as cold as the elder MacLean, but once he had explained why he had never replied to them, any wariness they had disappeared. They had created a website that was accessible by all the family members, and each member added photos that they wanted to share with Ryo. Every few months he would receive an email sent by someone in the family telling him that they had updated the website with new pictures of their families and homes. Fusao would make sure all the pictures were labeled correctly in English, and inserted any additional information that he thought would add to the enjoyment of seeing these shots from a faraway land.

His Japanese grandparents told a chilling tale. Through Fusao's translations, he learned that they had received a telegram from his paternal grandfather stating that their daughter and son-in-law were dead, killed in a drug related slaying. No explanatory details, no condolences, not a word with any type of feeling or concern. If Ryo had no reason to despise his father's family before, he did now. His grandfather had to be bordering on 90, if not older, but if he dropped dead right that minute Ryo would have felt anything but grief.

His mother's parents had managed to find the company that held the insurance policy, but that was no consolation for the loss of their daughter and son-in-law. They had tried several times to contact the American MacLeans, but to no avail. Either the letters were not getting through, or more likely, they were being ignored by them. How could such despicable people live with their consciences? He silently thanked Leo again.

Ryo downloaded all the new pictures as soon as they were posted, always afraid that something would happen to the site and he wouldn't have the images anymore. He had started a duplicate album of his own on a separate hard drive, putting all the downloaded pictures in it, and looked through it often. He could recognize some of the people, but some had changed, especially the kids. He appreciated Fusao's diligent labeling; it made watching the children grow up much easier. He had sent out a few of the closer family members pictures to be printed, and they were framed as a collage and hung over the sofa in the living room. His favorite pictures of Dee, Bikky, Carol, and Mother Maria were also included.

Ryo too had set up a website, but he didn't have nearly as much to put up as they did. He added all of these photos to his special album. So that they wouldn't be too confused, he had explained about Bikky and Carol, but left out the personal details about Dee. They knew that he was Ryo's work partner, brought up in the orphanage featured on the website, and that he helped take care of the kids, but that was all. Maybe later he would let them know.

Ryo had included many shots of the orphanage during all the holidays, and was asked by a few how he kept all the names straight. He just replied that it was the same as them remembering all the family members they had, and the family was by no means small. They rejoiced when Ryo reported that another child had been adopted, oooh'd and aaaah'd when he posted a picture of a new soul that arrived at the orphanage. Keeping the orphanage pictures updated became a priority for the website. Both he and Dee had kept an album of sorts of the orphanage from when they first started working together, but now it had become a family affair.

No one ever asked about the elder MacLean.

He had also heard from the Scotland MacLeans. Many of them knew the basic details but not that the perpetrators had all been dealt with in one way or another. Most were shocked at the antics of their American counterparts, stating that they had never been able to get close to them, but there were a few that doubted they could be that cold and heartless. In the beginning he corresponded with quite a few of them, but about half had trickled off by the end of the first year. There was also a MacLean website, and Ryo shared with them the link to the site he set up for his Japanese family members. Only a very select few of the MacLeans were given the link to the Japanese family.

Whenever Ryo went to these websites, he enjoyed seeing happy families, several generations together in the series of pictures. Whether it was a rocky coast on the North Atlantic or Mount Fuji in the background, the closeness of family came through. Where had this disappeared to in his family? Other than his mother being Japanese Ryo could see no real reason for the animosity. His parents never spoke of it, and it seemed to be far enough removed from World War II not to carry that stigma, unless for some reason his grandfather still held a grudge. He would have to ask Aunt Elena if her father served in WWII, and if so, where.

Just thinking of the elder MacLean reminded him of the fuss with the Education Fund. Once set up and formally announced, as he predicted the law firm was inundated with calls from the MacLean family as to who was this MacLean and where did he get the money? He had advised them to tell them exactly who the MacLean was and that the money was an inheritance from his family.

The last statement inflamed the MacLeans. As far as they were concerned, Randy MacLean shouldn't have had any inheritance. The grandfather had his lawyers start an investigation into where the funds for the Foundation came from, hoping to find a loophole to get the money. But the investigation backfired. Leo's excellent bookkeeping and attention to detail rubbed their noses in the dirtiest scandal ever to occur in the family, and Ryo got the last laugh. He would have loved to have seen the old man as he read exactly from whom each penny came from, and who it was that fleeced them.

Even after two years the snooping hadn't stopped. Several times someone had called for an investigation of the fund usage. But there was never anything to find – Ryo had one of the best organizations handling the funds. They were given every detail of where the funds came from and why they needed to keep on their toes. Several benefactors had come forward to donate money, and each was thoroughly investigated before he even considered their offers. There would never be a breath of scandal near his Education Fund, he made sure of that.

This year the first two students had been selected for scholarships and would be starting college in the fall. They chose the students from several sources. The main pool of applicants came from the orphanages around New York City, giving priority to the smaller, less funded ones, like Mother Lane's. But they also kept track of the students in schools located in the poorer sections of New York, getting reports from the councilors several times a year.

The first to be chosen was Manuel – a brilliant but very shy young man, very strong in mathematics and physics. He was looking forward to obtaining an engineering degree. His family was lost in a fire eight years ago, and no relatives could be found. He was originally from the local area around the orphanage and had become one of Mother Maria's charges. She was thrilled to see him get such an honor.

The other was Shauna, a delightful young lady and a computer whiz. She could build a computer or program it with equal ease. She knew every commonly used operating system forwards and backwards, and a few of the better obscure ones. Her parents had been killed in a drive-by six years ago and she had given up hope of ever obtaining a college degree, tinkering with the computers to pass the time. She was from a small orphanage in Harlem, poorly funded and very understaffed. Despite having to work hard to keep her high-honors standing, she spent a lot of her time with the other children, tutoring them and urging them to continue their schooling. With earning the scholarship she had become a symbol of achievement and success to the other kids, giving them hope for their own futures.

Ryo was very proud of these two. He would personally hand over the scholarships to these two outstanding young people, and had made sure the press would turn out for the event. Dee also wanted to be there, to see the first graduate of Mother Lane's Orphanage go on to bigger and better things because of someone's desire to help him reach his goal. Mother Maria was very grateful to see her charge being helped along by one of her graduates. She, Ryo and Dee were the trustees for the fund, making the hard decisions of which of the students were to be funded. It had been fairly easy this year, with few of the orphans in a graduating class, but in a few years there would be quite a few up for the honors.

#=#=#=#=#

Dee greeted Ryo in the office with a fresh coffee and a French cruller from the local bakery. As he placed it on Ryo's desk he managed to steal a quick kiss from his partner. Ryo objected of course, but inwardly he appreciated the show of affection. Dee knew he was late again, as usual. It seemed that he was only on time was when he stayed over Ryo's apartment. And that was because Ryo made sure he was up on time. Ryo had years of experience getting Bikky out of bed, so Dee was a piece of cake for him. Plus he could use more... shall we say unethical methods of rousing his partner?

After thanking Dee he asked if anything new was on their agenda for the day. It looked like a slow day so far, and he would prefer to keep it that way. He had the pricing report to do for Evan, and he had to reply to Fusao's letter tonight, so the less strain today, the better. But first he wanted to discuss his answer to Fusao with Dee. Seeing that he had a chance to talk with Dee privately and with little interruption, Ryo closed their door and moved over to Dee's desk, settling himself on the corner.

Dee looked up at Ryo and cocked his head. He had caught the door closing and wondered what Ryo was up to. "Somebody want another kiss? I'm willing to oblige..." His hand reached out and ran up and down Ryo's thigh, heading a bit more inward with each circuit up the thigh.

Ryo reached down and removed Dee's hand from his leg. "No, I have something to ask you. I got a letter from Fusao this morning."

After being flustered by Ryo's rebuff of moving his hand, Dee brightened. "How's he doing? Everybody fine over there?"

Ryo nodded. "Everybody is fine, but he had a surprise for me. He's going to be in New York next month, and of course he wants to visit with us. He'll be here for two weeks on a business trip visa. One of the interested companies is paying for him to come over and inspect their factories before signing the contract."

"That's great! It's taken two years, but you finally get to personally meet someone from the decent side of your family. Are they putting him up in a hotel, or does he have to find lodging?"

"He's getting real VIP treatment. They've made reservations for him, even down to a limo picking him up at the airport. That isn't the problem. With him being here for two weeks, do I tell him about us? He may pick up on it, and it doesn't seem right to lie to him while he's here. We've had discussions on the gay movement here in New York and he doesn't seem bothered by it at all. In fact, he wants to see the Village. I've been tossing around the thought of outing us to him, but I want your opinion first."

Dee took Ryo's one hand in his. "That's up to you, love. You know that I don't give a damn who knows about us, I just keep quiet for your sake. I don't think we're fooling too many people here; I'm damned sure Jim knows since he's already mentioned something about it to me. And Ted looks at us very suspiciously."

Ryo smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, I know. For as much of a clown that Ted can be, he has a sharp mind. Except around women, that is. That's why he's such a good detective. And hell, Jim knew before I did. He's scary!"

Putting on a more serious face, Ryo continued. "Well, I'll think on it some more today. Maybe I'll just let him know that I'm gay and leave you out of it. If he puts two and two together, then we worry about it. Sound feasible? I'm not worried about him knowing, I just don't want to start a fuss about nothing. "

Dee raised Ryo's hand to his lips and kissed it. "Whatever you do, I'm behind you 100%, you know that. I love you, babe."

The day had gone by quickly, with not too many emergencies to handle. The caseload they had at the moment was rather light, but what they had was nowhere near being solved. What they had was a bunch of dead ends that required rethinking where to look, and for whom. Most of the day was spent contacting private sources and the local stoolies for any new information. Surprisingly, even the paperwork was caught up.

Bikky had basketball practice after school and wouldn't get home for another half hour or so. Ryo started dinner, knowing it would be just about ready when Bikky stormed through the door. He'd made burgers and fries for dinner, with a side salad. Other than the dreaded salad, the meal was one of Bikky's favorites. In a way this made Ryo happy, because by being spoiled by his burgers, Bikky rarely went to one of the fast food places to eat; he even remarked that their burgers tasted bad. If he went with friends, he would normally only get a soda, and maybe fries.

Dinner cleaned up fast, and after checking with Bikky for homework problems, Ryo settled down for the evening task of computer work. The price quotes took the most time; he checked and rechecked his figures before sending the list to Evan. As to Fusao, he had made his decision earlier in the day, so he began typing the reply.

_Dear Fusao,_

_I am very happy to hear you will be able to visit New York, and in turn your distant family. Please send me a copy of your itinerary as soon as possible so I can arrange a few activities for us. I am more than willing to show you around the Village. In fact, it brings up something that I wanted to discuss with you before, but kept putting off. With your pending visit it is important to do this now._

_We have had several discussions about the gay movement here in the city, everything from a New Yorker's point of view to that of a police officer. But I never fully gave you my personal point of view. You see, I am gay. I don't normally announce this to everyone, and I usually try to keep this fact hidden for various reasons, but I didn't want you to be ill at ease should you inadvertently find out about me while you are visiting. I am hoping that this will not disturb you, and that we can still visit amicably._

_With all my respect and awaiting your reply,_

_Ryo_

Ryo sighed, with a bc to Dee the message was sent. With Daylight Savings Time in effect Japan's time was 13 hours in the future, so Ryo could expect an answer by the next morning. He reached over and turned off the computer. _Now, we shall see what we shall see._

#=#=#=#=#

As expected, there was a reply in his mailbox from Fusao the next morning. Placing his tea cup off to the side he seated himself in front of the computer, ready to accept whatever answer should be there with courtesy and respect. With a deep breath he opened the email.

_Dearest Ryo,_

_Please do not worry yourself of my opinion (is this correct American?). I have no problem with a person's religious, political, or sexual beliefs. I am not gay, but have several friends who are. They are some of the best friends I have. And I think that you are one of the best friends. And all of your family too._

_I have attached the itinerary that was sent to me on this email. See you next month!_

_Is also Dee gay?_

_Fusao_

Ryo laughed as he read the email. Hitting the forward button he entered Dee's email address. He would let Dee answer that last question.

#=#=#=#=#

The time had finally come when Fusao arrived in New York. He had a fairly tight schedule the first week, but after that things loosened up quite a bit. Ryo had spoken with him several times by phone, but mainly discussed his flight into New York how the interview was going, and what plans had made for the things that Fusao wanted to see and do in New York. They had set up several afternoons of tourist type tours, and one evening they were heading to Broadway. His schedule now almost rivaled the first week. But now they were going to meet face to face for the first time. Fusao decided to meet him in the lobby rather than in his room since it was now a bit later than they had expected to meet. He was very anxious to meet this American cousin, pacing a bit to try to relive the nervousness.

As Ryo approached the front desk to inquire about Fusao, he was lightly tapped on the shoulder. As he turned to see who was behind him, a heavily accented voice asked, "Ryo-san?"

Ryo's smile was reflected in the Japanese face now before him. He immediately noticed that he was looking into eyes equally as dark as his own. His cousin was shorter than he was, by about three inches, and had a thick crop of black hair. He was dressed similar to what Ryo wore – dress casual, and carried a tote bag that seemed to be filled with assorted boxes.

"Just Ryo, Fusao. Welcome to New York." He offered his hand and Fusao warmly shook it, and then each man supplemented it with an honest and gentlemanly hug.

After the preliminary greetings were taken care of they started to head toward the hotel's stairway down to the garage. Ryo apologized, "Sorry, I tried to get here a bit earlier but traffic didn't cooperate. Today I think we'll just get to know each other, sit and talk. Are you ready to go? Do you need to get anything first?"

Fusao shook his head no, holding up the tote bag and patting the waist pouch he wore under his sweater vest and jacket. Referring to his pouch he stated, "I have all that I need here. I find that this safety belt is the best to carry things in an unknown area."

Ryo was impressed. "That is very wise of you. Well then, let's go meet the rest of my family. Bikky's been overly excited about meeting a real Japanese relative. He's seen the album and the website, but he's thrilled to meet someone in person. Carol's waiting too. They wanted to come along, but I think that their excitement of meeting you would cause a bit of a distraction. It will be trying enough to sit with them for a few hours. Their energy is limitless at times."

Fusao laughed, envisioning two hyperactive children in the lobby. Giving Ryo a sideways look he asked, "Was Dee able to vacation today?"

They had reached the underground garage, and Ryo pointed toward in direction of his car. "Yes, we both arranged our time off for your visit since we were both due vacation time. The police department likes to keep teams together, so it is normal for us to share our days off together."

At that last comment Fusao smiled and nodded.

The drive to Ryo's apartment was filled with Fusao's reactions and comments to the architecture he was viewing from the passenger's window. Some things had no equal, and he was amazed by the number of people. The town that he was from was much smaller than Tokyo, which would be the most corresponding Japanese city to New York. The populations and density ratios were almost equal; both even had the 'cities within a city' layout.

Fusao became silent after a while, just soaking in the foreign scenery. Finally he spoke in a very definite tone, "It is like Tokyo here. Too many people and no space." He too was a country boy at heart, just like Ryo.

It hadn't taken too long to return to his apartment, and they now stood in front of Ryo's door. Placing a hand on Fusao's shoulder he asked, "So, are you really ready to meet my crazy family?"

#=#=#=#=#  
[1]Netsuke: see Wikipedia for an excellent description and numerous pictures.


	10. International Visitor

Ryo gave a quick knock on the door while calling out "we're here" as they entered. Bikky and Carol sprang up from the sofa and ran toward the two men. When they had come within two feet of Fusao they stopped. Carol nodded to Bikky, and in unison they bowed and spoke, "Amerika e youkoso" [1]

Fusao broke into a wide grin, and with an equally respectful bow, he introduced himself to the people now standing in front of him. "I am Morigiwa Fusao. Yoroshiku onegai shi masu[2]. Please take care of me – I think those are the accurate American translations."

Ryo then called Fusao over to introduce his aunt and uncle. "Fusao, these are the only other MacLeans on this side of the Atlantic that are worth knowing, my Aunt Elena and her husband Rick. He's an honorary MacLean. They have been just as anxious to meet you as I have. Aunt Elena, Uncle Rick, this is my cousin who opened the link with my Japanese family. Without him I don't know how we would have communicated."

After the hugs and hand shaking were taken care of, Fusao offered the large bag of goodies to Ryo, explaining that all were gifts for him and his family. The tote contained all sorts of Japanese delicacies and treats: one never visits empty-handed – it is an unpardonable insult. After sampling one of each treat in the bag with varied reactions, the kids peppered Fusao with questions – everything from what he ate for breakfast to what kind of shows were on television in Japan. The adults stepped in to calm them down and give poor Fusao time to collect his thoughts when they got a bit too zealous or started asking questions they felt were best unasked.

In between conversations they managed to take many pictures, alternating who handled the cameras so everyone would have copies of the best poses. It was amazing that no one was blinded by the amount of flash used. Most of the shots were serious, but several caught even the adults acting childish.

At the same time, Ryo had been busy putting the finishing touches on a special dinner for the family. He had originally planned to do a traditional Japanese meal, but after some thought he decided that a typical American meal would be more appreciated. The one he decided on took little effort in the kitchen, since it was mostly cooked in the oven. Luckily the temperatures had been cool lately, so putting the oven on was no problem.

Beef is a very expensive item in Japan and rarely bought, so he had selected a prime rib roast for the main course. He cooked it to medium well done, and made baked potatoes to go with it. For the side vegetable he prepared honey glazed dill carrots, and of course the fresh green salad, the bane of Bikky's life, was included. All in all it was an easy to make, fast cleanup meal.

Fusao was impressed with the dinner, even to uttering "Itadakimasu" (I humbly receive) before the meal and "Gochisousama" (Thank you for the great meal), and remarking that he hadn't eaten so much in a very long time. He complimented Ryo on his culinary skill, embarrassed to admit that he was only adept at making cup ramen noodles. The conversation then turned to foods of each country, and how things differed. After listening to the conversation for a while, Bikky stated that he was glad that he was in America – Japanese people ate too many vegetables.

Aunt Elena and Uncle Rick had to leave right after dinner; they had squeezed the visit in between previous appointments, and they had to travel back home, a three hour train ride. They expressed their delight at having met such a charming cousin, and hoped that they could possibly meet again, possibly in Japan.

After helping them clean up the dinner dishes, Ryo gave the kids some money for a movie. He explained that he wanted some time to get to know Fusao too. Email friends are one thing, but to have them sitting in front of you brings the fact that they are actually real people to the forefront.

Once the kids had left, Ryo moved to stand by Fusao. "I apologize for their over-exuberance Fusao, but I did warn you that they had unlimited energy. Would you like another cup of tea? Dee, coffee?"

Both men nodded agreement and Ryo went to the kitchen to get the refreshments. Fusao and Dee were seated on the sofa, deep in conversation when he returned with the tray. He had added some fresh shortbread that Dee purchased earlier at the local bakery. When he returned he heard Dee explaining that they would go to visit Mother Lane tomorrow. Saturdays were a very busy day for her with the children. After placing the tray on the coffee table, Ryo picked up his cup and settled in the armchair to Dee's right.

Fusao took his cup and thanked Ryo. After taking a sip he placed the cup on the table and took two packages that he had earlier removed from his tote bag and offered one to both Ryo and Dee. Seeing the packages, Ryo quickly left his seat, declaring that he would be right back.

By the time he returned Dee had already opened his gift – a detailed wooden carving of a Samurai Warrior. Fusao was explaining that he felt it was the most appropriate gift he could offer to a man who battled everyday for the citizens who employ him. Ryo thought that he saw a hint of a blush on Dee's face as he thanked Fusao.

Ryo viewed the statue with the knowledge of one who deals with such finery. It was a beautifully done object d'art, finely crafted and looking to be a 'one of a kind' item even though he knew it wasn't. "That is excellent craftsmanship Fusao – and very appropriate for Dee. It even looks a bit like him, don't you think? The set shoulders, the furrowed brow, the air of a temperamental attitude..."

With the last comment both Dee and Fusao realized that Ryo was kidding around, but that didn't stop Dee from complaining about unfair comparisons. Still chuckling to himself Ryo seated himself again and picked up the package that Fusao had handed him earlier, and at the same time offered the package he had retrieved from his bedroom. "Here is something we picked up for you. After discussing the places you wanted to go while in the city, this struck me as something you would really appreciate and Dee agreed." They had thought of New York City mementos, but most of them were made in either Japan or China, definitely not something they wanted to give Fusao as a reminder of his visit.

Ryo's gift was a bit different than Dee's. Upon opening the box Ryo gave a quick gasp: Fusao had gotten him a beautiful crystal paperweight. It was a fitting gift on its own, but encased in the crystal was his mother's family crest. Ryo carefully extracted to paperweight to examine it in more detail. A whispered "oh my" escaped his lips.

Fusao smiled at Ryo. "I think you like it? I had it made for you specially."

"Yes, very much so. Thank you. I will keep this on my desk here at home, so I can see it while I visit the family online."

It was now Fusao's turn to open his gift. As he started to unwrap the first package he let out a happy sound. "You remembered! Oh, I shall read this on the way back home. Ah, there are more..." Fusao rapidly undid the remaining two books, doing a quick perusal of the contents.

What Ryo had gotten him were several books pertaining to the Guggenheim Museum. One dealt with the structure, the last major work of Frank Lloyd Wright, while the other two were different publications on the contents of the museum. Over the past year Fusao had expressed interest several times in wanting to visit the museum.

"And I see that you like your gift too. We'll be visiting there on Tuesday, before we go to the theatre. They are fairly close together, making it feasible to do both in one day, though we'll probably be a little tired the next day."

The smile that graced Fusao's face was like a child that had gotten his wish. "We will visit the Guggenheim? I am very happy. Thank you Ryo. And you too, Dee." Fusao turned toward Dee and asked, "Are you going to the museum with us?"

Dee shook his head. "No, I have some long overdue repairs at the orphanage, but I will join you for dinner after the show. You just enjoy your time with Ryo – that will make me happy."

Fusao demeanor turned serious. "I would have known." Seeing that neither Ryo nor Dee understood what he meant, he continued. "I knew that you were a pair by watching you the last hours. You resemble my friends at home. You are comfort, ah, no – comfortable, with each other. One makes the other happy. I am glad." Lowering his head and glancing up at Ryo he asked, "How long have you been a pair, if I may be so rude to ask?"

Ryo shifted slightly in his seat, leaning a bit more forward. He smiled gently at Fusao. "You are not being rude, Fusao, and we don't mind answering. Dee and I have been together seriously for over two years now."

Fusao seemed to relax a bit seeing Ryo took no offence to his question. "You have several states that allow unions between gays, yes?" He wanted to ask why they hadn't taken advantage of this, but decided that the question was much too personal to be brought up. They probably had their reasons. "In Japan, all that can be done is adopt a partner, make them part of your family registry. But all is still hidden – no one is accepted. My friends are unhappy with this, but can do nothing. I feel bad for them. They want to be happy but have no permission. And the government sees no reason to give them permission."

Ryo knew that his cousin was very much in sympathy with his gay friends. "You expressed interest in visiting Greenwich Village. But I think you are most interested in seeing the gay lifestyle here, aren't you? You sincerely want to learn, but don't know how to ask, am I correct?"

Fusao nodded slightly. "When you admitted to being gay I was happy. It made it easy to ask questions. Gays in this country seem to have such a bad situation. But this I do not believe when I see what you have here in the city. And after meeting the two of you it is even less believable. I would like to, ah, ..." Fusao looked as if he were stumbling for words.

Dee felt he knew what Fusao wanted to ask. "You want to see the Village from a gay viewpoint, don't you?" Fusao nodded. "We have a favorite club we go to called Serenity that is very low key. They have great food and music, and you will get a better view of the reality of gay living here in New York. You'll see that we aren't all that different from you. We are like your friends and just want a little happiness in our lives."

Fusao grinned from ear to ear. "Yes, I would very much like to see this club, if you can take me. Will they allow me to enter?"

Both Ryo and Dee laughed. "They don't check you at the door to make sure you are gay. You will be quite welcome, right Ryo? They didn't question you the first time you went there. Why would you ask such a question?"

Fusao got a very serious look on his face. "In Japan it is very restrictive in entering a gay club. You must know what sex is in the club, what type of person, what the particular, ah, desires I think is the word that you seek. This is the normal for the clubs. Some even post signs that forbid foreigners entrance."

Ryo and Dee were surprised by this statement and Ryo answered, "That's not the way it is here. While there are private clubs, you will find that the on the average, the gay community is more accepting than most heterosexual groups. The club we go to is there for people to enjoy themselves, nothing more, nothing less. While the majority of the patrons are gay, not all the patrons are. Quite often gay couples come in with their straight friends. No one thinks anything of it at all."

Dee added his comments to the conversation. "There are a few places that do cater to special tastes, but they tend to be a smaller portion of the clubs out there. Usually if it is for a specific 'kink', the club will be private, with membership being a requirement for entry. And these types are usually hidden in some obscure location that isn't found easily by anyone who is not a member."

Fusao looked surprised at that statement. He shook his head and spoke rhetorically, "So you must know someone to get in the specialty clubs? Amazing."

"We'll arrange a walking tour through the Village that will give you the best view of the different sides of gay life here in New York. We do have some flamboyant specimens here. And we've had to arrest a few of them for being a bit too risqué, right Dee?"

Dee shook his head and laughed. "Then it is settled. We'll have dinner at the club after a walking tour of the area. I'll see if Carlos will hold a table for us that night. I'll just tell him we have a foreign visitor that wants to see the better side of New York."

They continued to talk until nearly 10PM, when the kids returned from the movies. Ryo knew he had to take Fusao back soon since he had an appointment with the hosting company at 10AM. After everyone made their goodbyes the two left for the hotel.

Once in the car Fusao leaned back, resting his head on the back of the seat. "You have an honorable family, and you are a remarkable person. I am very happy that I was able to meet with you during this visit."

Ryo clicked his seatbelt in place. "I'm glad that we were able to meet too. You have been very helpful to me as an intermediary with the family. You were the only one that could speak English and get my words to the family. I had no idea of what to do if I hadn't found someone that spoke English. I'd even thought of travelling to Japan and finding a local translator, but with my job it's difficult to take off for one or two weeks. We're on call most of the time. Even now I would have to go if they called."

"I can see that in a city this size there is much happening at all the time. And with your job there is always something to be busy about. It is a city that never sleeps, correct?"

Ryo chuckled, amused by the slight variance in English usage. It had become an endearing trait that he looked forward to in the emails. Fusao tried very hard to get everything perfect, and as far as Ryo was concerned, he was doing a very good job despite an occasional slip. "Yes, that is one of its other names. But sometimes it does take a nap."

Ryo dropped him off in front of the hotel, reminding him that he would pick him up tomorrow afternoon to go visit Mother Lane. Fusao nodded, thanked Ryo for the excellent meal and entertainment, bowing to Ryo before disappearing into the hotel lobby.

Fusao's schedule was quite full right now: on Monday they planned for some serious New York sightseeing and possibly a little shopping. Tuesday they would be visiting the Guggenheim Museum in the afternoon and then attending the Broadway production of Grease at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre that evening. Wednesday they would be touring the Village and going to the club later on that night. On Thursday Fusao was taking a late flight out, but he did have a scheduled meeting with the company that hosted his visit that afternoon.

After returning home Ryo showered and headed for bed. Dee was waiting for him in the bedroom. He had the lamp on the night stand lit and was reading his latest American Iron magazine. Ryo laughed. "How many times are you going to read that article? You should have it memorized already."

Dee feigned insult. "It's not often they do an article on a biker I know. I just think it's great that they did this."

Ryo smiled. "So, constantly having your nose stuck in that magazine has nothing to do with the fact that he mentions _by_ _name_ that one of his riding buddies is a NY cop?"

Dee looked quickly at Ryo, then back to the book. "Nope, not a bit." _Hmmm,_ _it_ _seems_ _like_ _Ryo_ _read_ _through_ _the_ _magazine_ _too._

Ryo sat on the bed and took the magazine from Dee, placing it on the night stand. "So how'd you like my cousin? He said he was thrilled to met you, and happy that you could take time off just for him. He's really a very interesting person, and a lot less Japanese than I expected."

Dee agreed. "He's a down-to-earth fellow. A bit more modern than I expected, but I think we here in America have a confused view of Japan. We're kinda stuck with the pre-war image – kimonos and geta shoes and all that stuff – or the outlandish visual kei look. Only the elderly seem to keep that traditional dress on a daily basis anymore."

"Yeah, that's why at first it surprised me when he wanted to see Grease. I think they're stuck in the 50's with their image of us! They seem to really enjoy that rock and roll. And remind me to thank Rose for arranging those tickets for me. There was no way I could have found them at this late date."

Dee suddenly looked irritated. "Just buy him a bottle of something expensive and say it's from Fusao, otherwise he'll be wanting to thank you for the thank you gift, and we know how he would like to thank you."

"Stop being so cynical. He'll understand it's a sincere response for helping me."

"Yeah, and then he'll want to be helping himself to you."

Ryo decided to ignore Dee's comment; he was in too good a mood to allow it to be ruined by something so trivial. After a few moments pause Ryo asked, "Are you sure that you don't mind that it's just Fusao and I going to the theatre?"

Dee raised an eyebrow, seriously considering what Ryo had asked. "Eh? No way – I told you several times before that I didn't want to go. I'm not much for Broadway at all. And anyway, he's here to visit you, his cousin, not me. You need to spend the time with him. He's travelled a long way to finally meet you. And he's done a lot for you in terms of reuniting the Japanese side of your family." Smiling, Dee reached out and touched Ryo's hand. "Just go and enjoy yourselves - I'll meet you for dinner after the show. I have enough in odd jobs to keep me busy at the orphanage for days, so it kinda works out for the best for both of us."

Ryo smiled warmly at Dee. He knew that Dee meant what he said, and that he truly wanted Ryo to spend the time alone with Fusao. At times Dee could be ever so charming and considerate. _When_ _he_ _'_ _s_ _like_ _this_ _I_ _can_ _understand_ _why_ _I_ _love_ _this_ _man._ Quickly bringing his thoughts back to the present he barked an order to Dee. "Move over, you're hogging the middle of the bed. I've got to sleep here too, you know."

Dee pulled back the covers as he moved over to what had now become his side of the bed when he stayed overnight. "Then come here babe, I need a kiss, among other things. I've been a good boy all day and haven't molested you at all. And anyway, who says you're going to get any sleep tonight?"

Ryo looked at Dee. The man was radiating sex. How could he resist, how had he resisted those first years? "You aren't the only one that wants a kiss." Ryo turned off the bedside lamp and silently slid under the covers.

As he finally positioned himself in the bed, Dee moved closer, wrapping his arms around his lover. "I've been waiting for you to get back. It gets lonesome here in this big bed," Dee purred into his ear. "Is a kiss all you want? I can think of a few other things to give you..." Without waiting for a reply he pulled Ryo into a very deep kiss.

Dee broke the kiss first, his lips travelling across Ryo's cheek to his neck, then down to that delicious spot above the collarbone. With each kiss Ryo pressed his body closer, wanting to receive more of the exquisite pleasure that Dee was lavishing on his body. Ryo's fingers dug into Dee's back, trying to pull him closer.

"Someone is ready? What if I do this?" and Dee slid his hand down Ryo's stomach to his groin. After teasing Ryo with his fingertips for a few minutes, he took hold of Ryo's erection and squeezed.

Ryo moaned, pressing his manhood into Dee hand. "Please," he whispered. "Now," was all he said, and the evening's pleasures began.

#=#=#=#=#

When Ryo awoke Dee was already up, a rarity for Dee. Just as Ryo was swinging his legs out of the bed, Dee peered around the partially open door.

"Ah, good, you're finally up. Did I wear you out last night? Maybe we did it once too often? A little too rough?" The smirk on Dee's face brought out conflicting emotions in Ryo. On one hand he wanted to smack that look right off Dee's face – he didn't need a running account of the events of the night before, but on the other hand, those memories were bringing a smile to his face.

Ryo stifled a laugh and steeled his face to look annoyed. "Well, if you're up so early, have you made breakfast? It would be nice for a change if I didn't have to make it."

The look on Dee's face reflected that he hadn't. He cautiously asked, "Will coffee do? I can make you some toast..."

He half-heartedly glared at Dee. "Never mind, I can get something myself." _He_ _probably_ _hasn_ _'_ _t_ _eaten_ _yet_ _either,_ _by_ _the_ _look_ _of_ _it._ _He_ _came_ _in_ _here_ _looking_ _to_ _see_ _if_ _I_ _was_ _awake_ _yet_ _so_ _I_ _could_ _make_ _breakfast._ _He_ _'_ _s_ _lucky_ _that_ _I_ _love_ _him,_ _otherwise_ _I_ _'_ _d_ _let_ _him_ _starve._ "Let me get a quick shower and I'll fix something." A quick glance showed a very relieved look on Dee's face

As he exited the bathroom Ryo could smell coffee brewing and what seemed to be bacon. Quickly pulling on some clean sweat pants and a t-shirt he went directly to the kitchen. Standing in front of the stove was Dee with his concentration split between the pan with the eggs and the frying pan in front of him. The toast had popped up from the toaster, and the eggs seemed to be in need of attention. Shaking his head in amusement he entered the kitchen.

"Here, let me do that, you take care of those eggs before they burn." As he took the frying pan away from Dee he gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You never cease to amaze me. Oh, where's Bikky?"

"He got up when I did and left muttering something about basketball practice. I told him to meet us at the orphanage around 6 o'clock. He also said we were perverts, again, and interrupted his beauty sleep."

Ryo blushed uncontrollably. He hated it when he knew that Bikky had heard them. Even though Bikky was getting older, at times Ryo still thought of him as a 10 year old. And he usually tried to keep quiet, but last night... well, last night Dee pushed all the right buttons and caution was thrown to the wind: it was an encounter to remember.

As Ryo was taking the breakfast dishes to the sink he reminded Dee that he was picking up Fusao around 2 PM, and that they would meet at the orphanage.

Dee was going to leave early for the orphanage. A few of the repairs that needed to be done were best done without the children around. Mother will be taking them to mass this morning, which would give him time to make the necessary repairs. He embraced Ryo for a kiss before leaving, but being Dee decided to try for a quick feel. Ryo quickly thwarted the feeble attempt by Dee to start something and pushed him out the door. As much as he would like to, this was not the time to spend the day in bed.

Mother Lane welcomed Fusao to the orphanage, as well as a select group of children. The school age children had been told of the visit by Uncle Ryo's cousin from Japan, and the younger ones had put together a presentation to entertain him. Fusao applauded loudly once their show ended, and they all went to the dining room for refreshments the children had prepared.

Several of the children went to talk to Fusao, asking all sorts of odd, and sometimes slightly embarrassing, questions. He tried to answer them all in the best way he could. Many wanted to hear him speak in this alien language of his, others just wanted to touch his face and hair. When things had started to settle down, one little girl stood in front of him, staring straight into his eyes. He was about to ask if she needed something when she moved closer and touched his cheek.

"You have eyes like Uncle Ryo. They are very pretty." At that, she turned and walked away.

Ryo had seen what took place and walked over to Fusao. "Her name is Katie. She's very special to me. When she came here she showed signs of physical abuse, there was evidence of past broken bones, and she was suffering from malnutrition. Her mental facilities are slightly hampered because of it. Her mother left her with a neighbor and never came back. I think if she had come back for her, Katie would be dead by now. Thankfully the neighbor turned her in to Social Services, and in turn she was placed here. She was very withdrawn but she's slowly opening up to others."

"You never put information about the children from the orphanage when you post their pictures, now I see why. Are there more like her living here?"

Ryo shook his head. "Sadly, yes. But Mother Lane has done wonders with them. No one seems to want to adopt children with deficiencies or problems, but Mother makes sure that all her charges feel loved. Just ask Dee, he can tell you stories. Ah, right on time; here comes Dee now."

Dee had just finished taking a shower; he had been painting one of the rooms upstairs and he needed to clean up before greeting Fusao. Ryo told him about Katie, and that maybe Fusao would like to hear some stories about Mother. Dee's eyes lit up – if nothing else, he liked to tell others just how loved Mother was, both by him and by those that called the orphanage home.

It was 9 o'clock by the time they got back to Ryo's apartment. He had dropped Dee at his apartment right after he took Fusao to his hotel. Tomorrow was a school day so that meant getting Bikky off to bed by 10. Ryo decided that he'd give the email a quick look then he'd head for bed too. Tomorrow he had promised Fusao to take him shopping, and he'd need all his energy for that. Those daytime shoppers can be quite a bother at times.

#=#=#=#=#

The next two days Ryo spent with Fusao. The sightseeing and shopping trip was very successful, so successful that Ryo doubted he could fit everything in his suitcase. The trip to the Guggenheim was the best thing that Ryo could have planned. Knowing that Fusao dreamed of seeing it in person, he happily watched as Fusao explored the museum like a small child, excited with each new scene the next room held. And his excitement continued when they went to the theatre. Commissioner Rose had gotten Ryo some of the best seats possible, and Fusao was enchanted. Dinner afterwards was non-stop chatter from Fusao, letting Dee know what they had seen and done over the course of the day.

After dropping Fusao off, Ryo asked Dee if he wanted to stay over; he said he was in need of a massage after two days of walking, and another one planned for tomorrow. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, all he could say was 'yes'. But something in the eyes said that Ryo should have defined massage.

#=#=#=#=#

The three men had spent most of the day visiting the various areas in Manhattan that were gay-centric. Greenwich Village had come a long way from its hippy days. Now Chelsea was an upper class area, populated by the more established couples. Further south was SOHO, which was home to the younger crowd. The shops and clubs they found here were more exuberant and lively. They ended their tour by moving into lower Manhattan. Serenity was located just off Christopher Street, toward Sheridan Square.

It was already dark out when they entered the club. They left their jackets in the coat room and proceeded to the main area of the club. The band wouldn't appear until 10PM, so there were fewer people here at the moment. Once it got to 9 o'clock it would be close to full. Dee waved to the bartender, who in turn motioned toward a booth to their left. Moving to the table they spotted the RESERVED sign. Carlos and Freddie rarely reserved tables; both Ryo and Dee felt quite honored to be a recipient of their kindness.

They had just settled into the seats when Freddie arrived. "Ah, this is your cousin Fusao Morigiwa from Japan? Welcome to Serenity, sir. I hope you enjoy the evening. You are in very good company."

Fusao smiled and replied, "Yes, these are two very dear friends. They have guided me through New York City for the past few days. They have made me feel very welcome here."

Dee told Fusao that Freddie and the bartender Carlos were co-owners of the club. Dee had been coming here for years, even before he met Ryo. "Right Freddie? We go back a long way."

Freddie smiled and agreed. He then asked what they wanted to drink. They all decided on beer; none of them really wanted to get drunk that evening. Before going to get the pitcher of beer, Freddie dropped several menus on the table. Fusao looked at the menu, definitely confused and undecided as to what to order. Ryo suggested the daily special, stating that's what they usually did when they had dinner here. The special today was roast pork, sweet potatoes, and green beans.

When Freddie returned with the pitcher and glasses they gave him their orders. He said it would be about 20 minutes before the orders were ready, but that was fine – they weren't in any hurry.

"So how did you like your tour of the Village?" asked Dee as he reached for the pitcher. He had been watching Fusao and his reactions as they walked through each area.

Fusao literally snatched the pitcher from Dee. "Friends serve friends when drinking," and proceeded to fill both Dee's and Ryo's glass. Gathering the gist of what Fusao did, Ryo then took the pitcher and filled Fusao's glass.

Getting back to the question that he had been asked, Fusao replied brightly, "It was very enlightening. There are many businesses here that are run by gay people. And not just shops; there are hotels too. It is very open here. There is so much to see. The park with the statues was amazing. Do they ever have difficulty with others that try to intrude?"

"There have been some instances of trouble, but nothing major recently." Dee seemed to be thinking of past events. "New York seems to have accepted that we exist, and we won't disappear just by hating us."

"But there still are those that harbor ill will toward any one of our persuasion," Ryo added. "Usually they work alone, or with one or two buddies, but as Dee said, nothing major lately."

Sensing that both Ryo and Dee would and could talk openly here, Fusao decided to ask questions. "How do you handle people that hate you, umm, hate gays that is? Does it happen often?"

Dee smirked. "They used to harass me, but once they found out that I didn't really care what they think, they didn't have any fun doing it. I wouldn't respond to their tactics. I've been bi since my teen years. In all that time it has always been the heterosexuals telling everyone how to live, how you must seek out an opposite sex partner or your some kind of sicko. I've never heard a homosexual telling anyone that they HAD to be gay. It's not our style. We're a lot more giving and understanding than the heteros. Live and let live. Just don't tell me that I have to live your way."

Fusao sat and thought about Dee's statement, finally replying, "Yes, you are correct. Never have I heard anyone stating that I must be gay. Are those your feelings also, Ryo?"

"Pretty much so. I didn't know I was gay until I met Dee. And then it took two years to admit it. With as long as it took for him to wait for me to come around, not once did he tell me that I was gay, or that I had to be gay. He let me find my own path to his door."

Ryo shifted in his seat a bit. "If I hadn't been so focused on finding the answers to my parents deaths, I may have realized it sooner. Once that had been removed from my priorities I was able to take a good look at myself, realize that vengeance was no longer my life's goal, and find a new goal."

"Do others harass you?" Fusao asked Ryo.

Ryo blushed a bit, slightly embarrassed by the question. "I haven't really come out to a lot of people, so very few know about me. Those that do know are friends and will say and do nothing to harm me. This is a new world for me, one I'm still adjusting to."

Fusao slowly nodded. "Ah, I see."

Just then Freddie arrived with their dinners, and any serious conversation was shelved for the time being. After they had finished their meal, Carlos came over to talk with the men. He only had a 15 minute break, but he wanted to at least say hello to this foreign cousin of Ryo's. Freddie did the same on his break.

Dee turned to Fusao after Freddie left. "You know, they are a couple. They've been together for years, for as long as I've known them."

Fusao looked disbelieving at Dee. He then looked toward Carlos. "Really?"

Both Dee and Ryo nodded yes.

It was about time for the band to show up, and the racket coming from one of the rooms off the main floor seemed to prove the point. A single guy started putting the equipment out on the stage, and the sounds of a guitar tuning up floated out of the side room.

Ryo spoke to Fusao. "This band is really good. They do a county style rock and roll, heavy on the guitar; a sound that's a lot like the early rock and roll."

The three had a pleasant evening, staying through the band's last performance. Fusao was enchanted with the club. When the band played, many couples got up and danced. His eyes took in every movement on the dance floor, a smile playing across his face as he watched the couples. These were happy people, enjoying themselves without any concerns for what was thought of them. He watched as Carlos and Freddie chatted with the patrons, smiling and laughing with them.

Before leaving, Fusao wanted to speak with Carlos and Freddie, to compliment them on their outstanding establishment. Standing by the bar he looked between the two. "You have an excellent club. You make many people happy by being considerate of them. You treat them like your personal friends; this is a special place for them. Thank you for allowing me to be here this evening. I have enjoyed the visit very much." With that, Fusao bowed and said, "Arigatou gozaimasu," a very polite form of thank you in Japanese.

Carlos and Freddie knew that Fusao had given them the most heartfelt thanks that he could possibly express, and both felt very touched. Freddie smiled and said, "You are most welcome to come here any time, we will welcome you as family."

Carlos nodded and added, "The same goes for me. Now you have a safe trip back home. We'll be waiting to hear from Ryo when you will be coming back to see us."

Fusao smiled, shaking both men's hands. "I would like that very much."

Ryo had very little to drink since he was the dedicated driver, but in actuality none of them had enough to endanger their senses. As they walked toward the parking garage Fusao spoke up. "I will not see you again until my plane leaves, but I have a request. May I have a picture of you two, together? Just for me to see?"

Both knew what Fusao was requesting. After a quick glance at each other, they each put an arm around the other's waist. "Why not?" Just as Fusao was to click the shutter, Dee turned and kissed Ryo. Fusao wouldn't know it until he was reviewing his pictures on the flight home, but he managed to capture a faint blush across Ryo's face in the picture.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] Amerika e youkoso – Welcome to America.  
> [2] yoroshiku onegai shi masu The Japanese equivalent of 'nice to meet you', only a bit more formal.


	11. I love you, but.....

The temperature had been in the high 90's for the past ten days with no relief in sight. Most of the CI unit had been out canvassing for any crumb of information on a violent rapist for the past week. It was slow going and no real leads had been uncovered. Everything they did find seemed to be dead ends, or worse, looped back to where they started. Everyone was tired and frustrated; they were all doing extra time on their shifts trying to catch a break in the case. The press was asking impossible questions about the case which was making everyone uneasy; then the bastard had struck again last night. The victim was hospitalized in the intensive care unit in critical condition.

Right now, all Ryo wanted was to take a cool shower, put on dry clothes, and relax with Dee and a light dinner in front of the TV. What he didn't count on was having Dee follow him into the bathroom and start taking liberties. They both knew that Bikky wouldn't be home for at least an hour or so, which gave Dee, in his mind, all the time he needed to seduce Ryo. But Ryo had other thoughts on the matter.

"Dee! Right now – stop it! I'm hot and tired, and I'm definitely not in the mood right now for your sexual advances. Go jerk off somewhere else if you're that needy."

Dee couldn't believe what he just heard issue from his sweet Ryo's mouth. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. Just leave me alone. I want to take a shower and cool off, and then I want to watch a movie – we can cuddle then. We don't need to have sex just because Bikky isn't here, and we really don't need to have sex every time we're together alone."

"But you're so sexy in the shower..."

"So says you. Today I'm hot and sticky and in a bad mood, so just leave me alone for right now. Let me cool down a bit, get out of work mode. We can play later."

"Ah, but baby, you know you like it when I take you in the shower."

Ryo sighed and turned to face Dee, who had quite a lecherous look on his face."But not right now, please. Maybe later, when we're both a bit more refreshed. Give it a break here. Let's just both cool off for a bit; it's been a rough day."

Dee's voice was low and filled with desire. He hadn't slowed for a moment, wrapping his arms around Ryo and pulling him close. "Sure baby, and then we can get all hot and steamy afterwards..."

Ryo looked exasperated. "You know, every time I try to set some rules, you get all possessive and domineering; you completely ignore me and do what you damned well please. You used to be more caring. Those first few years were great. But now you only do what you want to do and to hell with what I want. Get your hands off me! You're suffocating me!"

"I allowed you take charge last month ..." whined Dee indignantly as his arms fell back to his sides.

Ryo glared, his hands slightly trembling in anger. "...allowed...?" He quickly cut the sentence short as he felt his frustrations climb another notch, Ryo continued, icily and through clenched teeth, with his original reply. "Yes, last month. And when before that?"

Dee looked frightfully cornered. He really couldn't remember.

"That's right – you can't remember, can you? Try five months before that. And how many times have you taken me in that length of time?"

"But baby, you know I love you..."

"Don't 'baby' me! Just get out and let me shower alone! We've had this discussion before – many times before - you just don't want to hear a word I'm saying. Everything has to be your way; it seems like any more I'm just your personal sex toy."

"But..."

The toll of the heat and humidity on his body, the mental weariness from the current case, and Dee's persistence on Ryo finally culminated in an angry outburst. "No buts! I've listened to your pleading every time we have this discussion. This time I've had enough; I'm not going to be used anymore. I want to be an equal in this partnership, which you evidently can't handle. So find yourself a sex friend, somebody you can fuck whenever the urge hits. Go chat up JJ; he's been down since that Walter affair [1]. I'm pretty sure he'll settle for being your fuck buddy."

Caught unaware by Ryo's tirade, Dee stared at him, the shock of Ryo's words rousing resentment in him. Feeling his own anger rise he lashed out, "I just might do that!" Dee turned, snatched up his things, and stormed out Ryo's apartment.

Ryo stared at the door as Dee left, with a pain in his heart and a tear in his eye. Once again, they were fighting.

#=#=#=#=#

Ryo was finally waking up, or at least the hangover was starting to take charge. He must have really tied one on last night. He was hoping that his body had already gone beyond the point where it turns the alcohol into a nauseating chemical to torture his stomach. Even with his eyes closed, he knew the light in the room would be too much to take in all at once, so he kept them closed and took in his surroundings through his other senses.

There was the smell of coffee in the air, and the sound bacon frying too. Someone was making breakfast. There was a rumbling noise near him, and it was causing slight vibrations in the bed. When he moved his hand around to find the source of the noise, a small 'mrow' identified it as a cat. He didn't have a cat; so who did? Where the hell was he? What did he do last night?

And where's Dee? Oh yeah, Dee. We had a fight, another big one. So I met with Matt and went out drinking. I really shouldn't do that; I don't handle alcohol very well. So I guess Matt brought me home. Nice guy, Matt.

Ryo chanced opening one eye and spotted an endless grey ball of fur curled up next to him. "Cute kitty." As he reached down to pull back the covers he realized he was naked, but much worse, he was sticky. The events of the night before suddenly caved in on him unmercifully. He shot straight up in the bed, belatedly wishing he hadn't. His head was now pounding worse than ever. What had he done? Oh, he knew all too well what he had done.

Right before he was leaving to visit Evan at the shop, he had a rather heated argument with Dee. About sex. Again. Ryo had been hoping that Dee would come along to the shop so he could formally introduce him as his life partner to one of Ryo's old schoolmates, Matt Whitman. The few times that Dee had gone with Ryo to the shop, Matt had not been around. Matt knew that Ryo was gay, so introducing Dee wouldn't be too hard a chore. But while he was getting ready to take a shower, Dee decided that he was fair game, and insisted on having a quickie before they left. All too predictably push came to shove – Dee lost the battle and headed for his apartment while Ryo left alone for his appointment with Evan.

After he finished his business with Evan, Ryo stopped at the local tavern where he had arranged to meet his old school chum, Matt, for dinner. Matt was on the track team of his old high school. They were both honor students, and were in many of the same classes. Matt now managed an independent business, a computer data service company. His storefront was on the same block as Antique Renaissance, a few doors down on the opposite side of the street. Evan mentioned him one day to Ryo when they were discussing old school mates and where they were. Ryo remembered him from school, and all the times he watched Matt as he ran practice laps. On thinking back, Matt may have actually been his first crush, if he had realized his orientation at the time.

A voice from the doorway caught his attention. There stood Matt, fully dressed, arms folded and leaning against the door frame, smiling at him. "Finally joining the world of the living? Ah, and just realizing what you did last night? Don't worry so much. I won't tell if you don't. Too bad you're taken though; you're great in bed, Randy, even when you're drunk. Breakfast is ready whenever you want."

Ryo could feel the blush start. Those were words he didn't need to hear the first thing in the morning. Especially after he had cheated on Dee! But with the ways things had been the past few months, did it really matter? Lately it seemed that all he had been to Dee was a fuck buddy. Yes, he loved Dee, but Dee was becoming very domineering in his love making, only doing what he wanted to do and usually whenever he wanted to do it. Very rarely did Ryo get to voice what he wanted. Yes, he loved the sex, but he felt that there used to be a bit more interaction and understanding between them.

When they first got together there was a lot more give and take to the relationship, but now it had become very one sided. He had tried to logic it out by thinking that since Dee had no family, any love he felt he had he held onto with all his might. He knew Dee was very insecure in the relationship, even though they had been together for over four years now. But the doubts had started to take over and the love had degraded into an obsession. He doubted that Dee even realized it, or would even believe it. He had tried talking with Dee about it several times, but it always ended in an argument where either one or the other would walk out in anger.

His thoughts strayed to last night, and what had transpired. When he met Matt at the tavern he was still upset about Dee. Matt knew something was wrong and offered a shoulder for Randy to cry on. Matt knew he was gay, and had confided to Randy some time ago that he also was gay. Ryo never could tolerate much alcohol; realistically he doubted that he could even be considered a social drinker. If only he hadn't been so angry, if he hadn't had so much – way too much – to drink...

They sat in a corner booth, away from the busier areas of the tavern, where Randy proceeded to pour his heart out to Matt while getting extremely drunk. Matt had been keeping an eye on how much Randy was drinking, so he was not surprised when he had to take him home. But Matt didn't know where or even if Randy was staying in Poughkeepsie, so he took him to his apartment.

Everything was fine until he tried to put Randy to bed. He had managed to get him to lie down and had just removed his trousers, but things went awry from there. As he leaned over while trying to get the covers over Randy, his dark hair fell down across his eyes. In his drunken stupor, Ryo mistook Matt for Dee and kissed him, passionately and deeply. The kiss allowed him to pull the surprised Matt down toward the bed with him and hold him in a loving embrace. While one hand was entwined in Matt's hair the other undid his shirt. He then rolled Matt over and started recklessly removing the remainder of their clothing.

At first Matt tried to resist, but he understood what was bothering Randy, and decided it would be best to submit to him. Matt had to admit that he was curious as to how his old classmate performed in bed - Randy was a damned good looking man. And to stop him he would have to hurt him. Matt was about Randy's height and weight, but even though they were close in size, Randy was definitely much stronger. If he surrendered to Randy and became the surrogate Dee, it might help him relieve some of the tension he had brought with him from New York City.

Matt was normally a bottom, so he opened the nightstand drawer and gave Randy the lube he kept there. Oh, this would be one interesting evening, but there sure would be hell to pay come tomorrow morning!

Matt was impressed with Randy's skills. This Dee fellow taught him well. He rarely had such an experienced partner in bed with him. Dee was a fool; he didn't know what he was missing by totally dominating his partner. The foreplay hadn't gone for too long a time due to the influence of the alcohol, but both men seemed to enjoy it immensely. But when it came to the final moments, Randy cried out Dee's name as he came, a few tears rolled down his cheeks. There was no mistaking to whom Randy was making love.

Ryo sat on the bed, holding his head in his hands, the memory of last night still replaying in his head. Between what he had done and the hangover headache he was in bad shape. "Oh Dee, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"Are you going to sit there and feel sorry for yourself? Just think of us as fuck buddies, sex pals, whatever. There's no emotional attachment. I gave in to you because you needed it, plain and simple. You felt good last night, didn't you? You don't feel as stressed this morning do you? You're probably just feeling guilty as all hell, a mental stress rather than a physical one." Matt chuckled, and followed this with a Cheshire cat type grin.

Ryo looked toward Matt, totally amazed that he could take this so lightly. "Of course I feel guilty. I've never done this sort of thing before!"

"Your Dee's a fool for not letting you take charge now and then. Last night was some of the best sex I've ever had, even if it was a bit short. If you ever want to leave that asshole, come to me. Even if you don't leave him, come to me when you need to relieve the stress. I'll be here for you, either with or without sex. No strings. Now come eat breakfast before the cat gets it." Matt had seen the cat leave the bed and head for the kitchen.

Ryo wasn't in a thinking mood. Matt said some things that he needed to think about, but he definitely wasn't up to it at the moment. "Can I borrow your shower first? I seem to be a bit of a mess. It might clear my head a bit too." Somehow Ryo managed to get to his feet safely while looking for something to hide his nakedness. He didn't see anything within reach, but really, he had slept with this guy so he had already seen everything he had. He decided to hell with modesty and shuffled off in the direction that Matt was pointing. Plus his head was starting to spin from too many quick movements.

Matt watched as he stumbled around the bed, enjoying the gorgeous ass as it made its way to the bathroom. Matt sighed. Quit dreaming – that one will never be yours.

Bringing himself back to reality, he called after Randy, "I'll find you some clean clothes; we're both about the same size. There's a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. I keep some on hand for unexpected visitors, if you catch my drift. Clean towels are behind the door and the electric razor is on the shelf by the sink, that is IF you feel capable of using it. Everything else is on the shower shelves."

Ryo was surprised that the shower actually did make him feel better. The casual clothes that Matt had left for him fit well too. The outfit reminded him of the warm-up suits that Matt wore to the track when they were in school. After a quick shave he towel dried his hair the best he could, finished dressing, and exited the bathroom to find breakfast.

He found a bottle of aspirin sitting next to his coffee. Holding up the bottle he rhetorically asked, "Evidently this is a common breakfast food around here?" He opened the bottle and removed four tablets. "I haven't had a headache like this for months. How much did I drink?"

Matt sucked in the view of this gorgeous piece of humanity sitting across from him at the table; then, while thinking dirty thoughts, he smiled evilly. "Enough to allow you to screw a friend..." Matt lifted his fork and dove into the scrambled eggs.

Ryo blushed a bright red. "I'm sorry about that. I never meant..."

Matt put up his hand and waved him off, shaking his head in reply. "Chill, I said I'm not upset! And don't apologize. I helped by not resisting. You have nothing to apologize for - you were just satisfying a natural urge. And you are very good at satisfying that type of urge, by the way," he replied with a knowing smirk on his face. This was one encounter that Matt wasn't going to ever forget.

"But you don't understand." Ryo stammered, pushing the scrambled eggs around his plate. "I mistook you for Dee. I love Dee, with all my heart." Ryo's voice trailed off to just above a whisper. "He's the only man that I ..., well, you know..., partnered with."

Matt's face got very serious. "He's your first? Really? You never did it with anyone else?"

"Not male anyway, not until now."

"Oh, then I can see why you are so upset. But tell me this, how many has he had? Dozens, I bet, if he's as gorgeous as you say he is."

Ryo sighed and nodded his head. "Dee was boasting as to being bi when I first started working with him at the precinct. Everybody called him a stud and said he had a string of lovers, both male and female, all over New York. Being new to the area I never knew if they meant the city or the state. I didn't bother to ask either, since I really didn't care to know at the time."

"Oh, so he could cat around while you were a good boy?"

"No, it's not like that. Once he set his sights on me he stopped with everyone else. For two years he went without, waiting for me to give in. At the time I didn't realize that I was gay, but there was something about him that attracted me, kept my attention on him. I couldn't say no to him, nor could I say yes because at the time, even though it was denial, I knew that I wasn't gay. He put up with a lot while he was waiting for me to reciprocate the feelings." Ryo gave a sad smile.

Matt whistled. "Well, if all that's true, then you really do have a guy that loves you. More power to you. I hope you can straighten him out as to this domination thing."

"So do I Matt, so do I." The two silently finished their breakfast, much to the cat's annoyance.

#=#=#=#=#

Dee Laytner wasn't a detective for nothing. He had good instincts for ferreting things out. Like now, he had noticed that almost every time he and Ryo had a fight, Ryo would start getting phone calls that he would take out of hearing range. Sometimes he would disappear for an overnight trip to Poughkeepsie within a few days. Once he realized this fact, he estimated this had been going on for about four or five months. Granted, Ryo had business to attend to in the antique shop he helped run with Evan D'Arcy, but those trips were always pre-planned. These other trips seemed to be more spur of the moment.

Was there some furtive reason for these phone calls and trips? It really doesn't look too innocent, so maybe I should follow him next time and see what's going on.

It didn't take long for the next fight. It was the middle of February, just after Valentine's Day, and for some reason the calls into the station seemed endless. This week had been especially bad. Dee hadn't been able to see Ryo for over a week due to the schedules, but they each had the next day off. He decided to take Ryo for a belated Valentine dinner at the local Italian restaurant. And if he was lucky, Bikky would be off with Carol doing something together, allowing him time alone with Ryo in his apartment.

So far his luck had held. Bikky was off with Carol, until at least 10PM by the note he left. It was only 8PM now. Two hours of loving, coming up!

But it was not to be. As soon as they entered the apartment and Dee realized that they would be alone for a while, he went into action. Ryo hadn't even gotten his suit jacket off yet and Dee had his hands undoing buttons, roaming under his shirt, and pulling out his shirttail, all while kissing him. Ryo on the other hand just wanted to relax a bit, to take it slower on the love making. He too was looking forward to some time alone with his lover.

Pushing Dee away, Ryo politely asked him to stop for a while and let him clean up. Dee offered to help him wash up, and even followed him into the bathroom. That was the last straw for Ryo. He wasn't a prude but he really didn't like Dee always tagging alone with him to the shower. The argument that ensued was of monumental proportions. It ended with Dee being thrown out of the apartment and told not to return until he got his libido under control.

Dee was royally pissed. But if his reckoning was right and since they had the next day off, tomorrow Ryo would head for Poughkeepsie.

#=#=#=#=#

Matt and Ryo were sitting in their normal booth in the tavern. It was early afternoon, so there were few patrons around. Matt had his arm around Ryo's shoulder, comforting him. Matt was also holding one of Ryo's hands, talking in a very low voice.

"Ryo! Who the fuck is this? Is this why you come up here all the time? You got yourself another lover in the wings?"

Ryo stiffened, shocked to hear Dee's voice behind him. Matt felt the change and had a pretty good idea who was standing by the table.

Dee turned to Matt, fire in his eyes. "And you, get your hands off my property."

At that comment Ryo stood up, grabbed Dee by the lapels and said in a low hiss, "I am NOT your property. We're taking this outside. I won't have you cause a scene in here."

Dee smacked Ryo's hands away from his lapels, readjusting the jacket. "And just who is causing the scene, eh Ryo? You are sitting here holding hands with another guy, thinking you left your angry lover at home. You tell me no and come up here to climb in bed with him? You didn't think I'd figure it out and follow you, did you? You've had too many trips up here that weren't for the shop. Oh yes, I know about that. Several times I called Evan and you weren't there, and weren't even expected to be there."

"Matt and I are leaving." Ryo threw a $20 on the table and then he and Matt headed for the lesser used side door. In a low voice he warned Matt, "He's going to follow us. Are you willing to let him in your apartment? We'll have a bit more privacy there. If not, I'll see if I can get him to agree to just driving somewhere secluded to talk." Ryo knew that an argument on the street would attract the police, and nothing would be more embarrassing than two ace New York detectives being arrested for disorderly conduct in front of a Poughkeepsie bar.

Dee was right behind them, rapidly closing the slight distance between them.

"How violent will he get?"

"Hopefully he won't, not with me around; he'll probably just get loud. I can handle him."

Dee had finally made it to where they stopped outside, and was about to grab Ryo by the shoulder. Matt took one look at Dee, who had murderous flames dancing in his eyes, and after the slightest hesitation said, "OK, let's go to my place, it's more private."

Dee's eyes narrowed as he replied in a very snide voice, "Oh, I get to see the love nest too? How sweet of you."

Ryo turned to face Dee, his face filled with anger, his right hand in a fist. "Shut up or you'll regret it."

Dee was stunned. He had never seen Ryo that angry. "So how am I supposed to feel, finding my lover in someone else's arms, then being taken to where the fucking occurs?"

"If you had just listened to me, even just a little bit, we wouldn't be in this situation. This is all of your making, not mine!"

"I find you fucking around with another guy and I'm the bad guy? There's something seriously wrong with that logic, Ryo."

Matt was getting nervous, since the tone of the conversation was definitely rising in decibels. "Guys, let's go, before the cops show up. I know you don't want that."

Both men glared at each other, but quieted and followed Matt.

After they entered the apartment, Matt went straight to the kitchen to let the two of them converse, as if all that shouting could even remotely be construed as a conversation. Matt was glad that he didn't have any close neighbors.

"So where did you pick him up? Is he one of your art buddies, or did you find him hanging out in one of the galleries?"

"I didn't 'pick him up'. He is one of my old schoolmates and a friend."

Dee's eyes narrowed, malice radiating from every inch of his body. "Hmmmph. Fuck buddy seems a more appropriate label. Is he better than I am?"

Ryo fumed. "What? That's not a question that needs to be asked. A more important question should be WHY I had to go to someone else to be satisfied."

The reply had caught Dee off-guard since he had not expected to be questioned in return. "So you even admit it! And what the hell is that supposed to mean, WHY? You seem satisfied enough when we fuck."

"And that's part of the problem. You don't even consider it love-making any more. I'm just a fuck buddy. I don't have any say in what we do. As long as I bend over for you, everything is fine. Well maybe I don't want to bend over every time. Maybe I want to make love to you."

Dee sneered. "That's what this is all about? You've got to be kidding me. That's why you're saying this is my fault? Because you haven't fucked me for a while?"

Ryo sighed loudly. "Yes, I think it is. Don't you think it manly enough to be taken anymore? You never complained the first couple years. And if it's not manly enough, then what the hell do you think of me? I'm expected to do that all the time for you..."

Matt had heard enough. He came out of the kitchen to stand in front of Dee. "You, sir, are treating him all wrong! He wouldn't have come on to me if you had realized and accepted what he needs. But you shut him out; you're not letting him be himself anymore."

Matt's anger overrode his fear of Dee, who had inches and pounds on him, not to mention muscle. He firmly held his ground, arms straight at his sides, hands clenched in fists. "Lower your pride and let him take charge once in a while. You just might enjoy it. It sounds like you have in the past. There is a whole lot of pleasure in the act. Just because you're a bottom doesn't mean you aren't a man. Or is that really how you think of Randy, as less than a man?"

Dee was appalled that this stranger would dare talk to him in such a way. Dee fumed, his body trembled with rage. "Keep your nose out of my business. You have no right to say anything to me. Ryo is mine, and what we do is no concern of yours. You are kidding yourself if you think he loves you."

With the anger radiating from this person, Matt had braced for a more physical reaction and still stayed on his guard. "I know he doesn't love me, I never said he did. I'm just your surrogate. He loves you as much as you do him, just let him prove it. Randy is a beautiful man and a great lover, and he cries your name when he comes, not mine. If you continue this way, you will lose him, guaranteed; and I'll gladly be there to pick up the pieces. Then the love of your life won't be yours anymore, and you'll be back to an unwanted, unloved loser."

Matt's comments inflamed Dee's anger to a point that he could just barely contain it. Dee's clenched his hands into fists as he readied a fiery and possibly violent reply, but Ryo placed himself between the two men. Grabbing Dee's left wrist he cautioned him to settle down.

Then Ryo turned to Matt. "Matt, that's enough. You don't need to insult him. I've hurt him enough. And you Dee, I'm not property for you to own. I'm no more yours than you are mine."

Turning his attention fully to his lover he apologized. "Dee, I'm sorry. I just wanted a change, not all the time, just once in a while. Sometimes I want you as bad as you want me, but you always manage to cut me off or tell me 'later' or 'next time'. I love you, but we need to make this a bit more even. It's not that I don't love you or that I don't want to have sex. I just don't want you to force it on me. All too often any more that seems to be the case. You come in and automatically expect me to have sex with you. Other times, no matter who starts it you finish it. I would like a say in when and how we have sex."

Dee's mind was still fixated on the fact Ryo was fucking somebody else and on Matt's comment about being Dee's stand-in. He was not listening to what Ryo was trying to explain. "So, you've been screwing him? Rather than me?"

"Have you even heard a word I've said?" Ryo replied in frustration. "Yes, because you won't let me make love to you. I love you Dee, but this is proof that you don't even listen to me."

"Fine, then stay with him." Dee wrenched his wrist away from Ryo, turned and in a rage slammed out of the apartment.

Ryo watched sadly as Dee left the apartment, unwanted tears forming in his eyes. "Oh, Dee..." He suddenly felt totally drained.

Matt shook his head. "That guy's got a bad temper. Are you OK, Randy?"

Ryo slowly sank into one of the chairs. "Yeah; I'm sorry I got you into this mess. I should have realized that he would eventually figure it out. We're two of the best detectives in New York. It's going to be pure hell tomorrow at work.

Matt sat in the chair next to Randy. "Don't worry about that. I figured there would eventually be trouble, but your needing help was more important at the time. You've got my phone number if things get too bad and you need to talk. I'll be here for you."

"Thanks Matt, I appreciate it. I think I'm calling it a day and heading home. For some reason this has really stressed me out badly."

If you're leaving, why don't you get some lie down and rest first? I think you need to calm yourself a bit before you drive back to New York. All that stress isn't going to help your night driving, especially with the weather we've had lately."

Ryo could feel the tension working its way across his shoulders and into his neck. This was a monster of a headache about to start. He started rubbing the back of his neck, foolishly hoping to ease away some of the pain. "You may be right. Maybe a few hours sleep will help ease the headache that's beginning to bloom." Ryo started toward the bedroom then stopped. "Are the aspirin in the bathroom? I think I'm gonna need a few."

Matt smiled weakly. "Yeah, they're on the second shelf of the medicine cabinet. I'll go put a blanket on the bed for you."He knew that Randy was very upset about Dee's arrival, but there was nothing he could do to help him right now. On top of everything else, he was starting to care for Randy. Perhaps this was for the best, before he became too attached to his infrequent lover. Friendship between them was going to be a bit tense for a while, but he thought they could survive this.

And even with his arrogant behavior, Dee was quite a looker too. Together, Dee and Randy made an impressive pair. Despite it all, he wished them the best – there was an obvious deep love between the two men.

"Thanks Matt, I owe you." Ryo turned and continued on his way to the bathroom.

When Ryo woke, the bedside lamp was on and a fully dressed Matt was curled up asleep beside him. Ryo got out of the bed, and tucked the coverlet over Matt. After a whispered 'thank you, and I'm sorry for all the trouble', Ryo gave him a kiss on the forehead. As he quietly gathered his things to head home he glanced out the window and sighed. It had begun to snow again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] An affair JJ had in Rocks and Hard Places  
> In this story I used both Ryo and Randy as Ryo's first name. Only Dee calls him Ryo; everyone else knows him has Randy and addresses him as such. Close friends do know his middle name but rarely use it.


	12. Four Down and One on Hold....

The next few weeks were pure hell for both Dee and Ryo. Neither man was speaking to the other except for the necessary communication at work. All the other CI unit personnel made sure to stay away from the two, sensing extreme danger should they cross either one of them. They knew Dee's temper was legend, but Ryo had an even nastier one once it was engaged. They had learned firsthand that you really do have to watch out for the quiet ones. Even JJ had the sense not to venture too near the pair.

Each of the men had gone to the Chief on his own asking for a new partner within days of the initial blowup. The Chief put off making a decision since they had been the best team the precinct had seen in decades. It pained him to think about having to split them up, but if this went on much longer, he was going to be forced to consider it as an acceptable solution to the problem.

But after a week of their chilled relations the Chief had spoken with the two men, both individually and together, but to no avail. They referred to each other as Detective Laytner and Detective MacLean in a very icy tone. Seeing that he was getting nowhere with lecturing the two, he warned them that if they let whatever was wrong between them have even the slightest ill effect on their police work they would be suspended for a month without pay and permanently split up as a team.

Even Commissioner Rose tried negotiating with the two, but his results were the same – silence on the subject from the pair. He knew that their relationship was strained and that they were at odds more often for the past several months; whatever had happened this last time was extremely serious. But he had to hand it to them; they were keeping it to themselves. Given no other choice he also promised suspension and to move both to two new precincts if they let it interfere with their duties. Plus as an added incentive to end the stalemate, he hinted at a substantial demotion for the pair.

Bikky, who had an on and off hate/hate relationship with Dee didn't offer any comments to add fuel to the fire. Just by Ryo's bad mood, he knew that something serious had gone down again, and that Dee was most likely the main cause of it. They had been fighting a lot more than normal for the past six months, and he sure as hell wasn't going to add to his dad's grief. And that dork would pay for it when he saw him again, upsetting his dad like that.

Dee was still stuck on the fact that Ryo found someone else. _We'd never fought this long – ever. Was it really just because he didn't get to fuck me now and then? That's not a reason to be unfaithful, is it? But all those phone calls were after we had a fight. And the trips to Poughkeepsie too. Any more, all we seem to fight about is sex._ Ever so slowly the point of each argument they'd had over the past six months was sinking unnoticed into his mind, leaving an indelible mark in his heart.

It had been a month since the blowup in Poughkeepsie. Ryo had been both angry and upset when they had argued that night, but now he was hurting, badly. He loved Dee, but Dee wouldn't listen. He hadn't wanted to change everything. He enjoyed being bottom, it had its own pleasures that were quite different from being top; having experienced both he personally knew this. But when he was top he felt it showed how much he loved Dee, or at least to him it did. He didn't top often, but when he did it was special to him, more emotion seemed to be involved in the act. He had always thought that Dee felt the same way – could he have been wrong in that assumption?

Ryo was missing Dee more and more, but Dee was acting like Ryo carried the plague. If they didn't have any case to discuss, he normally wasn't in the room with him. Although the initial hostilities had simmered, they still refused to see each other as anything but a work partner. Were they actually no longer a couple? Ryo sincerely hoped that was not the case. To lose Dee now, over such a thing, would be horrific. He even considered apologizing to Dee and forgetting about being top occasionally. He was willing to forget a compromise and swallow his pride if it would bring Dee back. Sometimes hard sacrifices were needed to save a love. But he wasn't even sure that Dee would listen to an apology, much less accept it.

#=#=#=#=#

Dee had been searching for some old case files in the storeroom when he heard the door open. Thinking nothing of it, he continued to search for the specific file he needed. He suddenly felt a soft touch – a hand on his back, palm flat and slowing moving in a circular pattern. _Ryo!_ Involuntarily he closed his eyes, feeling his body ready itself to lean back into that loving caress. But just as quickly he brought those feelings tightly under control, remembering that this was the man that had betrayed him.

He turned to glare at Ryo. Pushing Ryo's hand away he briskly asked, "What the hell do you want? I don't need anything from you."

Dee's harsh comments pushed Ryo to near tears. "Please Dee, we need to talk. I'm lost without you. It's been over a month now. Can't we discuss this like human beings? I know I did wrong, I admit it. I know saying I'm sorry won't help, but I truly do regret things getting this way. All I wanted was a chance to show you how much I love you, but you ignored me. What can I do to get you back?"

Dee glared at Ryo. "Why? Did Matt dump you and you don't have anybody to screw now?"

The impact of those words struck deep into Ryo's soul, and sent him into a frenzy. "You bastard! I'm trying to save what we once had and all you want to do is keep on fighting! What happened to all that love you had for me? Was that just a lie? Or was it just to keep me hooked as your sex toy?"

Ryo's anger was quickly rising to an uncontrollable point. "I'm here, willing to do anything to get us back together and you're playing high and mighty! I love you Dee, I love what we had. But lately you've been expecting me to bow to you whenever we're alone. I just can't do that. We are both partners in this, not master and slave. You know where I live; when you finally get some sense back in your thick head, come and talk to me. I'll be waiting for the old Dee Laytner."

Ryo turned and left the file room, slamming the door behind him. It was near the end of his shift, so he stopped by the office to grab his coat before he clocked out. As he was leaving he saw Dee exiting the elevator, and he didn't look happy. _Well too bad if you're pissed off, I tried my best. Now it's your turn to beg and grovel_..

But by the time Ryo arrived at home, his mood had deteriorated from a full blown mad-on to the deepest melancholy one could ever imagine. No matter how often he examined the situation, and from whatever angle, they were over. Dee wasn't receptive to listening to anything he had to say. Hanging his jacket on the back of a kitchen chair, he checked to see how the crock pot was doing before putting water on for tea.

_All I wanted was to get things back to how they were. What could I have done to keep things from getting this screwed up? Dee, if you had just listened to me seriously, just talked things out, it wouldn't have degraded to this point. I would never have had sex with Matt. I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of righting things now. Dee, I do love you, from the bottom of my heart, but what happened to you?_

He started setting the table for dinner. Bikky would be home soon, wanting to eat right away. Bikky always acted like he hadn't been fed for days at the dinner table. Unless it was vegetables of course, then the appetite was non-existent; even after all these years that still hadn't changed. The tea kettle was boiling so he poured the water into the cup and added the tea bag, sitting down to wait for Bikky.

But as he sat there, thoughts of Dee filled his mind. Scenes from better times flowed endlessly, a few sexual, but most were not. Over four years worth of taking walks in the evening, quiet nights at the club, watching TV together, going to Bikky's basketball games, just being in the same room side by side... He couldn't stop the memories, and soon his tears were flowing as fast as the memories.

When Bikky came in he found Ryo at the kitchen table with his head on his arms, crying his heart out. Bikky was a few months away from his 17th birthday and had become quite a well built young man. He was taller than Ryo, and near his weight. He was understandably upset when he saw his dad in such a condition. Putting his books down, he moved beside Ryo.

Going to one knee he asked with great concern, "Ryo, what's wrong? Is there anything I can do? Did something happen? Don't you feel well? Can I get you anything?" Bikky started rubbing Ryo's back in hopes of soothing the distraught man.

Ryo shook his head and started to stand up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. With a faint smile on his face he turned to look at his son. "Thanks Bikky, but I'll be OK. I'm just not feeling well and I'm going to my room to lie down for a little while. I think I just need some extra rest; I've been working pretty hard on finding the shop merchandise lately, and the caseload at the precinct has been a bear. Dinner is ready and in the crock pot; I'll eat later."

Bikky watched Ryo as he walked slowly toward his bedroom, his heart aching with the knowledge that he could do nothing to comfort his dad.

Bikky had just finished his dinner and was putting the dishes in the sink when the doorbell rang. He turned off the water and went to answer the door. He was still very concerned about Ryo, so when he opened the door and saw Dee standing there, his temper rose.

"Hello Bikky. I want to speak with Ryo."

"But I don't think he wants to speak with you. Now just leave."

"I'm trying to be nice Bikky, but I'm not leaving until I talk to him."

"You bastard! You're why he's in his room crying, aren't you? What did you do this time? I know whatever happened, you started it. There's no way I'm letting you in. You've done enough damage already." Bikky started to close the door, but Dee put his weight behind it and wouldn't allow it to close all the way.

"Bikky, I said I want to see Ryo. You are not going to stop me."

Bikky was vehement. "You set one foot in this apartment and I'll deck you!"A pushing and shoving match ensued, accompanied with threats issued by both parties, but neither one got the edge on the other.

A very hoarse voice from the background called out, "The two of you stop it. Bikky, let him in. I'll talk to him."

Bikky raked his fingers through his hair, trying to hide his aggravation, "Ryo, he's just gonna snow you again, like normal. Haven't you learned?"

"Bikky, enough! I said I would talk to him and I mean it." Ryo then walked toward the kitchen not only to put water on for coffee but also to hide his red, swollen eyes from Dee. He didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing exactly how hurt he was.

"Then I'm going out for a walk. I'm not staying in the same room as that low life."

Ryo yelled, "Bikky!", but he had already grabbed his jacket and gone out the door.

Ryo shook his head in dismay. Now he had Bikky to deal with. Bracing both hands on the counter edge and without turning around he asked Dee, "So what do you have to say? I have things to do and you are taking up my time."

Ryo suddenly felt himself being spun around and engulfed in Dee's strong arms. Unsure of what to do, he just closed his eyes and stood there with his arms by his sides, not moving. But it felt so good to be held again. He couldn't suppress a small shudder nor stop the twitching of his hands wanting to hold Dee in return.

"I'm sorry. I've been rude, I've been domineering. I've been possessive. I've not taken into consideration your feelings one bit. I've been all the things you said I've been. I've been a total ass and I drove you to Matt."

Ryo felt a few tears fall on his shoulders as Dee pressed his cheek against Ryo's. "I love you so much, and I've always been so afraid that I would lose you that I pushed you away with my actions. I used to control myself better, but lately I've let it slip. I didn't mean to hurt you. Oh Ryo, I've missed you so much."

Dee paused, taking a few controlling breaths before continuing. "After you left the file room, I was angry with myself for what I said. I had really wanted to lean into your caress when you touched my back. I wanted to take you in my arms and beg you to let me back in your life. I don't know why I said what I did. It wasn't what I had on my mind. I guess I was just being stubborn and childish. And when I got back to the office and found you had already left, I thought that I lost my chance to rectify things. But then I remembered that you said you would wait for the old Dee Laytner."

Dee squeezed him a bit tighter. In a soft voice he whispered, "I'm here, Ryo. I'm sorry. I've been gone for too long."

Ryo closed his eyes. A wave of relief flowed through his body. Dee forgave him, and wanted him back! As Dee rambled on, Ryo slowly moved his arms up to hold Dee in a loving caress, his shaky hands and fingers caressing the trembling man holding him. His tears dampened Dee's shirt. He could hear the beating of Dee's heart, feel his warmth and breathe in the intoxicating scent of his body.

Stifling a sob Ryo whispered, "I missed you too, more than you can ever imagine. I thought that we were through, that I'd jeopardized what we had to the point it couldn't be restored. My world was crashing due to my selfishness. Can you forgive me?"

Dee lifted Ryo's chin so he could see his face. Bloodshot green eyes looked into Ryo's. "Only if you can forgive me. I was greedier than you, wanting to dominate you completely, to make you know that you were mine alone, with no regard to your feelings at all." Dee leaned forward and planted a warm kiss on Ryo's forehead. "I'm so sorry, Ryo."

The two men stood in the kitchen, their arms wrapped loosely around each other, and talked for almost an hour. Finally Dee released his hold and told Ryo he was leaving. "I think we've gone as far as we can tonight. We each need to think a bit, but we can discuss this more tomorrow if you want. We can go to lunch, kinda like a date? Would that be OK with you?"

Ryo smiled, giving Dee a kiss on the cheek. "I agree, and I think that lunch is a very good idea; I look forward to it. Until tomorrow then." Each whispered 'I love you, and shared a light kiss before parting.

When Bikky returned he realized after a quick glance around that Dee had already gone. "Did you give him an earful and send him packing?"

Ryo shyly smiled. "No, we are working on solving our problems. Both of us wanted things and never properly discussed them, and now we agree that we need to talk about things more often, and listen too. We're starting anew tomorrow with a lunch date."

Bikky stared blankly at his dad. "Dating? Is that even a word you can use at your age? Now I know you're both crazy. But since you seem to be in a better frame of mind, I'm heading to my room to do my homework." As Bikky headed for his room he called out over his shoulder, in a very authoritative voice, "And make sure you eat your dinner!"

#=#=#=#=#

Dee and Ryo were very cautiously renewing their relationship. The events of the past eight months weighed heavily on the two men, and had nearly cost them what was most dear to them. Never before had their future been so close to becoming their past.

Ted was the first to notice, and it was only about an hour after they had arrived at the precinct. He mentioned it to Drake, and after a while he realized that Ted was right. Dee and Ryo were talking to each other. Peacefully. Dee was still in their office, he wasn't hanging out in the break room or in one of the interrogation rooms. Ryo's face was actually sporting a real smile again, not that fake mask he had been wearing for over a month now.

It definitely looked like that whatever had been wrong had been righted. Peace ruled in the Laytner/MacLean office once again, much to the relief of their coworkers. When they left together for lunch, something they hadn't done since the Christmas holidays, the two were the subject of most conversations.

It was the first time in months that Ryo had been in Dee's apartment, but when they talked at lunch they both agreed that they needed a place to be completely alone. They wanted to talk uninterrupted, without Bikky or Carol coming in unexpectedly, Evan calling about some business problem, or any other such distraction. Only their work phones were turned on, in case they were needed in an emergency situation.

Dee had put on the coffee maker when they first arrived, and both now sat across from each other at the kitchen table with a fresh mug of coffee in front of them.

Ryo tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. "I'll start. I have the most to confess."

"I only slept with him three times, and each time I was extremely drunk. Matt was – is – a good friend, he listens when I talk with him. He understands what bothers me, and doesn't judge me for my opinions. I'm not as open as you are about our relationship, so I needed someone who understood my predicament to listen. I didn't feel as alone when I talked to him. But once I got drunk I only saw him as you – the dark hair, the smile, even his voice reminded me of you. And rather than having to physically hurt me to stop me, he allowed me to have my way knowing that it would temporarily ease the pain."

Dee shifted slightly in his chair. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear any more.

Ryo tried eye contact with Dee, but he couldn't do it. Dropping his gaze to his hands he continued. "The first time was last July, when we had that rapist case we were trying to solve. I remember that the temperatures back then were pushing the records and our tempers were short. I had to go meet Evan, and I wanted you to come along. But we fought, again, and I went alone. I was going to introduce you to Matt, but it didn't work out that way. He wound up consoling me while I got very intoxicated, and took me home. In turn I made love to him thinking he was you. The next morning I didn't know what to do. Matt didn't seem to mind, but I sure did."

Dee closed his eyes. He didn't want to hear this, but yet he couldn't turn away. Ryo felt that he needed to say this, that if he didn't confess his part in this matter they wouldn't be able to progress beyond this point.. _I_ _ _guess this is payback for all those stories he's heard of my escapades. I didn't realize that it would hurt so badly.__

"I vowed not to do it again, but then we had that fight around your birthday. I had to see Evan the next day and happened to run into Matt. He knew right away that I was really upset and offered to listen. We spent a few hours at the tavern – long enough for me to drink myself stupid again. I took a bit more than the offered shoulder and stayed overnight with him."

The conversation was not only affecting Dee, but also Ryo. There were a few tears making their way down Ryo's cheeks, and the agony of retelling this was etched on his face. _This_ _may_ _be_ _more_ _painful_ _for_ _him_ _than_ _it_ _is_ _for_ _me._

"Please Ryo, you don't need to do this. I understand why you did it, and I'm sorry that it happened, but I really don't care to know the details. It's over and done; it can't be changed, so we need to leave it and go forward."

The tears were freely flowing from Ryo's eyes now. "No!" he shouted, then in a lower tone, "No, I did wrong and you need to know. The last time was after the holidays. I was upset that you wouldn't let me take you, not even once, no matter how often I hinted or asked. This was the worst time, because I went to see Matt fully intending to have sex with him. You had me so angry that I didn't care anymore. But once I got there I still had to get drunk, and then Matt turned into you again, and I...I...

At that point, Ryo completely broke down. Dee quickly left his chair and went to put his arms around his heartbroken lover. Standing beside Ryo, he held him close, cradling his head against his stomach, stroking his hair, murmuring words of comfort; just trying to console him the best he could. He could feel the trembling in Ryo's body, and felt each sob echo through Ryo's body.

Tears were falling from Dee's eyes now, but he still held tightly to Ryo, whispering to him, "I'm so sorry Ryo. That's enough, you've told me enough. You needn't say anymore. I understand. It wasn't your fault. I pushed you too far, I forced you to take actions you didn't want. I never dreamed that I could hurt you so badly. I don't think I can ever make up for this. I'm so sorry Ryo, I'm so sorry..."

It took a while but finally both men settled down. Ryo spent some time in the bathroom trying to sooth his nerves and tone down the swelling around his eyes. Dee spent time at the kitchen sink doing much the same.

When Dee saw Ryo exiting the bathroom he poured fresh coffee in both cups. He moved to the chair beside Ryo rather than opposite him and took Ryo's left hand in his right. Giving it a squeeze he asked with a smile, "Are we ready to continue? I think we got the bad part out of the way."

Ryo raised Dee's hand to his lips and kissed it. "Yeah, I think we can continue now."

They spoke for about an hour before parting, clearing the air on a few less serious problems, but the topic of when they would have sex again was not brought up. Although that was the main issue, it would take some serious discussions to formulate the remedy. But the goodbye kiss was much more affectionate than it had been for months.

#=#=#=#=#

Their shift was over, but as Ryo was readying to leave, Dee told him not to make dinner, he would be by later to take care of it.

Ryo looked at Dee quizzically, but agreed he would wait. They had the next two days off together – maybe Dee wanted to get a head start on further reconciliation.

Dee was visibly nervous. All the reservations were made, the suitcase was packed and stashed in the hotel room, Bikky was old enough to take care of himself, and they had the next two days off – what could go wrong? Everything, if things went the way they had been lately. Would Ryo take offense to what he had arranged? He had messed up badly in the past, and now was paying for it dearly. Well, he couldn't change things now, so he had to go through with it.

Dee cautiously knocked on the door. He nervously shifted from foot to foot, fidgeting with his hands while waiting for Ryo to answer the door. Finally, the door opened.

Hearing the knock at the door, Ryo went to open it. He figured that Dee had his hands full with dinner. But seeing Dee standing outside his apartment puzzled Ryo. He was nicely dressed in a sport jacket, dress slacks, silk shirt, and tie. "Dee? What's this? Why did you knock, did you lose your key?"

Dee shuffled again. "No. I came to ask you if you would accompany me for an evening of dining and dancing." Suddenly looking a bit concerned he asked, "You don't have other plans for this evening, do you?"

Ryo stared at Dee, replying "No, not really. I was just waiting for you to bring dinner." He motioned for Dee to come in, not wanting to converse in the hallway.

Ryo realized exactly how serious Dee was about starting over. It had been almost a week since they had their first lunch date, and other than one other lunch date and the confession at Dee's apartment, they hadn't been alone together. Here he sat on Ryo's couch, a couch that had launched countless sexual encounters between them, looking like a teenager on his first date. Ryo had asked if he wanted anything to drink and he asked for some ice water; his throat was as dry as a desert right now.

Ryo pulled the ice cube tray from the freezer, his mind on anything but ice cubes. He was trying to wrap his mind around what Dee had asked. Dining and dancing? Was he really asking him out on a date? He was dressed appropriately, and the topic of conversation was pointed in that direction. They didn't have to work tomorrow so there was no worry about getting to work on time if they stayed out too late or drank a bit too much.

Glancing at the clock in the kitchen he noticed that it wasn't quite eight o'clock, plenty of time to get ready and go out. In an odd way he was excited to be asked out. There were a few places that Dee would likely want to take him, and this being a weeknight a lack of reservation wasn't much of a hindrance.

Ryo took the glass and a coaster into the living room and placed them before Dee. "Where did you want to go?" Ryo hadn't eaten since noon; they were working long shifts this week, leaving the precinct at almost seven o'clock. He wasn't sure if the fluttering in his stomach was from lack of food or Dee's offer. Dee must have taken the clothes to work with him and showered there. There was no way he could have made it to his apartment, cleaned up, and gotten back here in an hour.

"I was thinking of the Serenity Club, if that's OK with you. The band is there tonight, and we can get dinner until eleven."

Ryo felt an excitement that he hadn't felt for a very long time. "That sounds good to me. It won't take long for me to get ready." As he headed toward the bathroom he called over his shoulder, "Put on the TV if you want."

Dee breathed a sigh of relief. He had accepted the offer. Now the hard part was could they peacefully spend the night after an evening of pleasant entertainment? He instinctively turned on the TV, never hearing a thing issuing from the speakers. His mind was on later this evening and how to initiate what he envisioned as the start of the solution to their problem.

When Ryo emerged from his bedroom Dee stood and stared. Ryo wore nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to make him look sexually alluring, but to Dee he was the sexiest man in the world. _He dressed like that especially for me. If we weren't still healing I'd drag him back to the bedroom and show him exactly how much I love him_.His heart was pounding; he tried to speak but words failed him, so he faked a small cough.

Ryo noticed the look on Dee's face and asked if something was wrong, looking to see if he had a tear or dirt or something stuck on his clothes.

Dee shook his head no. "I can't believe that you still love me. After all I did that hurt you, after all the pain I caused you; you stand in front of me graciously accepting my invitation to dinner. I take one look at you and I fall in love again."

Ryo lowered his head a bit to hide the slight blush he felt cover his cheeks. He wanted to rush over to Dee and press him into the wall, but they were still healing, and it wasn't the time for that type of behavior yet. "Shall we get going? I don't want to miss out on dinner – I haven't eaten since noon."

"After you, Sir."

#=#=#=#=#

When they entered the club it was just nine. Although Serendipity was a predominately gay club it was quite popular with all types, and always near capacity. It had a reputation for good food and great music. There were few empty booths, so they headed for one nearest the back. It was closer to the kitchen area and a bit noisy, but it would also give more privacy to their conversation.

The bartender recognized them as they entered, and immediately called to someone in the room behind the bar. The man who exited spoke briefly with the bartender as he turned to look toward the booth he was indicating. Nodding, he started over to the booth.

"Dee, Ryo, my friends! It's so good to see you both. You haven't been here very often lately – we thought that you didn't like our place any more. Are you here for dinner? The special is roast chicken today, with stuffing."

While Ryo shook hands, Dee replied. "Hello Freddie. We've been tied up with a few personal matters lately, but we needed a good meal to start the evening. Is the band due in at ten?"

"Sure is. Two specials for you guys tonight?"

Ryo replied for them. "Chicken sounds good to me, you too Dee?" Dee nodded his agreement and Freddie took off into the kitchen to place their order.

He returned in a few minutes stating that the food would be out in about fifteen minutes, and inquired what they would like to drink.

Dee and Ryo looked at each other. Dee knew that Ryo didn't want to order anything alcoholic for fear he'd get drunk, so Dee got the jump on him and ordered a pitcher of beer; that was much safer than liquor. Freddie nodded and left for the bar.

Once behind the bar he grabbed a pitcher and went straight to the bartender.

"You were right Carlos, they've been fighting. We will have to keep them well supplied; this looks like a make-up date to me. But I'll have to do it while they aren't around to wave me off. I wonder who did what?"

Carlos laughed. "I don't think we want to know, not with those two. They'd arrest us for invasion of privacy!"

Freddie and Carlos were co-owners of the club, and had known Dee for a very long time. They had met Ryo a few months after he committed himself to Dee, and they knew instinctively that Dee and Ryo were a perfect match. But both had noticed that they didn't come in as often as before, and when they did the atmosphere was not as it should be.

By the time they had finished their dinner the band had set up and was in the first set. Dee asked Ryo to dance and he agreed. While they were on the dance floor Freddie noticed that the pitcher of beer was almost empty and supplied a refill. He was keeping a good eye on that pitcher for his friends. With those two, a little alcohol will go a long way in creating a calm situation.

The band had gone out for their first break so it was the perfect time for talk. Dee decided that it was now or never to broach the subject.

"Ryo, I love you. Sometimes I think too much. Right now I want you, but don't know how to begin. I'm afraid that you will think I'm being pushy again. I'm not, believe me. I want you to take me too; but we need to agree to what we want to do, and where and when. Do you have any suggestions where we should start? I'm so afraid to try anything for fear you'll take it the wrong way."

Ryo glanced down at his hands. "I know what you mean.I've really made a mess of things, haven't I? I don't want to go to my place, we need a quiet place, maybe your place or a hotel? We can continue the discussion there, and if things work out, well..." The typical faint blush spread across his cheeks.

"Yeah, not my place either," Dee replied, shaking his head. "That's not neutral enough."

Ryo thought for a few moments then stated, "looks like we're left with a hotel. Dee fully agreed.

Dee and Ryo finally left the club around 2AM. They had a nice evening, dancing and talking like old times. Neither of the men was drunk, but both could be considered pleasantly relaxed. They had both gotten into the cab before Ryo realized that they weren't in Dee's car.

Dee answered the questioning look in Ryo's eyes. "We're both been drinking and shouldn't drive. I'm taking us to a hotel so we can continue our discussion, like we agreed. And maybe do a little more, if we feel it's time." Ryo nodded in agreement.

#=#=#=#=#

Dee felt that they had talked enough at the club. Now settled in the hotel room they needed some action, to see how it would go. They had talked for a bit while seated on the end of the bed, and so far his luck was holding. As Dee gently guided him down onto the bed, kissing and nuzzling all the right spots, Ryo was starting to respond. Jackets were lost and shirts unbuttoned. Things were getting quite hot and steamy until Dee started to massage Ryo's crotch; he felt Ryo tense up and pull away.

Dee was confused. "Do you want to go first?

Ryo looked flustered, and in a rather irritated voice said, "I don't know. You can go ahead; you want to."

Dee was quickly feeling frustrated. Ryo's attitude was not what he had expected. "So, are we going to sit here and argue over who goes first? This isn't any better than before. We've got to come up with some sort of solution otherwise we'll never have sex again."

Ryo looked equally annoyed."So, do you want to flip a coin? That's really romantic."

Dee was distracted by the view of Ryo's chest due to the unbuttoned shirt. Not thinking, he sighed and said, "I'd rather flip you." as he slid one arm inside the shirt to pull Ryo closer.

Ryo immediately wriggled free of Dee's hold, keeping him at arms distance. "That's a lame comment if I ever heard one."

Dee was losing his patience. "What? I'm trying to be nice here."

"It doesn't sound like it to me..."

Dee was now getting angry. "Dammit Ryo, you want this as much as I do. If you don't shut up, I'll shut you up. Come here." Once again he wrapped his arm around Ryo's waist.

"You're going to get pushy again? Haven't we had enough of that already?" Pulling away from Dee Ryo shakily got off the bed and started buttoning his shirt while looking for his jacket and coat, preparing to head out the door once he found them.

Dee felt his heart sink; either the alcohol was having a reverse effect or Ryo was just being stubborn. Well, he could be just as stubborn. He jumped up from the bed and grabbed Ryo by the arm. "You're not going anywhere. We're going to finish what we came here to start."

Dee had caught Ryo off-balance, and easily threw him onto the bed. He straddled Ryo's hips, his shins rested on Ryo's thighs, making it easy to pin both Ryo's arms and legs down, nullifying his ability to fight him off with any success. Anger and hurt radiated from Ryo's eyes, and he expressed those feelings in some rather ungentlemanly words.

Dee had heard enough. "That's enough Ryo. Please, I don't want to force you. I love you." With a sadness rarely heard in his voice he whispered, "I've missed you so much..."

As Ryo opened his mouth to angrily reply, Dee forced a kiss on Ryo, long and deep. At first Ryo bucked against Dee, but the longer the kiss lasted, the less resistance Dee felt. By the time they broke for air, Ryo had forgotten his anger.

Dee loosened his grip on Ryo's arms and locked his gaze on Ryo's eyes. "Ryo, I love you so much that I forget myself. When I make love to you I get so wound up in you that nothing else exists. I love your body, your reactions, your responses... When I'm in you I don't want to leave and lose that closeness. I want to keep your heat and tightness around me, not let it go. I lose track of all reason when I make love to you. This is what I try to keep in control. Do you understand?"

Ryo slid his arms out of Dee's loosened grasp, placed his arms around Dee's neck and pulled him down for another soul-felt kiss. After breaking the kiss Ryo whispered, "Then make love to me Dee, don't just fuck me like before. I need you to love me."

Ryo initiated another kiss and Dee followed through. After removing their partner's shirt, both ran their hands over the naked chest of the other, like each was renewing his knowledge of the other man's body.

Somehow Ryo had wound up lying on top of Dee. After sitting up a bit, Ryo stopped as he hovered over Dee, looking intently into Dee's eyes, fingers stroking the side of his face. "Is it really you this time? I'm not seeing things, am I? You aren't really..."

Dee put his fingers to Ryo's lips, a slight sadness in his eyes. "Please, don't even consider finishing that thought; forget about it – that's all in the past. It's really me. I'm here, waiting for you to love me. I've missed you being in bed with me. Take me Ryo, show me how much you love me."

Dee took Ryo's hand and kissed each of the fingers. "Strip me, Ryo. Run these fingers over my naked body, thrust them into me, tease me unmercifully – I didn't realize it before but I've missed that. Right now I want to give you what I've denied you - what I feel when I'm in you."

Ryo smiled at Dee, running his fingers down from Dee's throat to his chest. "I'm not going to last long, you know that, right?"

"Neither am I. But right now we both know that this isn't a one-shot deal tonight. We're here for the duration, until we're both satisfied. Even if it takes us into tomorrow afternoon."

#=#=#=#=#

They woke the next morning in each others arms. It was late, almost noon, but they hadn't gotten to sleep until daybreak. Once the initial wariness had been overcome, there was nothing to interfere with the intense love making and the re-declaration of commitment.

Ryo, with a concerned look on his face, spoke first. "We need a shower. And what are we going to wear? All I see is piles of wrinkled clothes lying all over the floor. We're going to look like homeless people when we leave here." He was mentally chastising himself for not paying attention to where he was tossing their clothing last night.

Dee rolled over and planted a kiss on Ryo. "Nope, I planned ahead. We have a suitcase in the closet full of clean clothes."

Ryo shot up and stared down on Dee, disbelief on his face. "You preplanned all this?"

Dee sighed; as he had feared, it was explanation time. "No. Yes. I just covered all the bases. If you didn't come, or if you came and I couldn't convince you to stay, well, then it didn't matter. But if you stayed I knew we'd need fresh clothes and our toiletries. I didn't know the outcome, so I prepared for all of them. I wasn't guaranteeing we'd make a night of it, but I sure as hell was hoping we would. Are you angry?" With a worried look Dee took Ryo's hand and kissed it.

Ryo stared into Dee's eyes, noting the worry and concern there. "Ah, so that's where you went at lunchtime. And no, I'm not angry, not once you explained it. Thank you for the consideration." Ryo leaned over and kissed Dee. "Now let's get that shower."

The shower turned out to be a pleasant and unexpected part of the making up. Each washed the other, which of course led to more intimate things, but there was no urgency to the acts. Everything flowed smoothly, no premeditated thoughts, no rough sex; just pure enjoyment between the two men.

Once they had finished in the shower Dee called room service to have a light lunch sent up while Ryo gathered all the clothes strewn about and put them in the suitcase. At least when the food came it wouldn't look like an orgy had taken place.

As they ate their lunch, both sensed that a barrier had been breached last night. Things were starting to right themselves again. They still needed to be careful, but a big step had been taken.

Ryo finished his sandwich and placed the napkin on the plate. "So what are we going to do with the rest of our time off?"

"Well, first I have to get my car. We left it at the Club, remember?"

"Hm, I forgot about that. Well, after that what do we do?"

"Let's go to the shore. The beach is amazing this time of year. It's a nice day and it may be a bit chilly, but it's beautiful. They haven't cleaned the beaches yet, so it looks a bit more wild and natural than normal."

Ryo seemed to think about it, and then smiled. "The shore, huh? Walking on the beach, hand in hand? Maybe a stolen kiss now and then?"

Knowing that he had captured Ryo's curiosity, Dee smiled as he replied, "Yup. Maybe even drag you under the boardwalk for a few more intimate kisses..."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

 


	13. The Long Awaited Dream

Ryo was getting annoyed by the ringing phone. It hadn't stopped since they got in this morning, and Dee didn't seem interested in answering the phone at all today. In fact, he was missing, again. There were still days when Dee's lack of work ethic annoyed him no end, and this was one of them. _You would think that after all these years he would at least have gotten a bit better about doing his own work!_

Even though their status had changed in the 2-7, after almost 15 years they still shared an office. Dee worked as a Grade 1 detective-investigator, usually fielding with the new guys and teaching them how to stay alive while Ryo now coordinated the training division. Together they made sure that the new teams understood what it meant to be a detective. Each man had retained his detective rank, they just didn't go out into the field together due to their marital status. On special cases they would work with a team, but never together.

Reining in his frustrations, he answered the phone. "27th Precinct, Lieutenant MacLean speaking. How may I help you?"

"Mr. MacLean, this is Jim Jackson. I'm just calling to let you know that it's available. I hinted I might have an immediate buyer and they are willing to wait until they hear from you before continuing."

Ryo noticeably tensed. "Reasonable?"

"We discussed price and arrived at what I feel is a very acceptable figure. I didn't tell them who you were, for obvious reasons. Any orders?"

"Yes, open the envelope I left with you and take care of it for me. I can imagine that finding out who the buyer is will shock them. Thursday is my next day off, so I'll be up sometime then to finalize any remaining details."

"I thought you would say that, and I'll take care of it as soon as I hang up. I'm looking forward to seeing you again. So, until Thursday then, Mr. MacLean."

Ryo smiled as he reset the line, and then dialed the phone. A female voice answered.

"Ryo here. It's mine."

#=#=#=#=#

Dee had been watching Ryo carefully the past few months. He was troubled about something. No, troubled was too strong a word, he was preoccupied with something. There was something that was constantly on his mind, eating most of his spare time – and more importantly, eating into their time. And he was jealous of whatever it was. Something had usurped his position as Number One in Ryo's non-work thoughts and he had no idea what it was.

Ryo had been getting a lot of calls on his cell lately, but he always moved to another room or just out of hearing range to take the call. On most of his days off he had traveled outside the city, sometimes barely returning in time to make his next shift. And it wasn't to go to the shop; he had called several times and Ryo wasn't there – and evidently he hadn't been there with any regularity for several weeks.

Now Dee was getting concerned: **had** he gone back to Matt or, even worse, someone else? _We've been married for seven years – oh god, did that make this the seven year itch? That type of thing doesn't really happen, does it?_ Dee worriedly thought back but couldn't see where they had any problems. He had kept his possessiveness in check quite well since they married; the finality of the vows seemed to smooth out his overtly possessive feelings and removed any doubts he had of Ryo's love and fidelity.

Wherever Ryo went he kept several changes of clothes for he rarely returned in the same outfit that he was wearing when he left. It had been like this for the past two months. On the few times that Dee actually asked what was going on, Ryo never gave him a straight answer, he just smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad, you'll see soon." But even after they made love last night, he knew that Ryo was lying there, still thinking about whatever it was that so recently had begun dominating his thoughts. And yet again, he felt he was completely left out of those thoughts.

#=#=#=#=#

The rain hadn't ceased for three days now, it wasn't just a sprinkle here and there, but a steady rain that permeated everything. It was early summer but the constant grey and dampness put a dismal feel in the air, adding to the discomfort of the warm temperatures and high humidity. Everyone in the CI unit was as gloomy as the weather. When one had to canvas areas in this type of weather, the cheerful disposition disappeared once the shoes and socks got wet.

They were nearing the end of the shift, and Dee was looking forward to the next few days since they both had the time off. Even if it continued raining, he wanted them to do something together at least one of the days. Hopefully Ryo hadn't made plans to desert him again for both days, like he had been doing much too often lately. Dee didn't want to have to look at their empty apartment for two days. He wasn't going to let him take off for the whole time if he could help it. It was bad enough now; with all Ryo's traveling on his days off and the time he put into obtaining stock for the shop, they rarely had time together anymore. They managed maybe one evening a week to themselves lately, which is bad when you're married and live together. Should he follow him? The last time he did that he got more than he asked for. And that would only show a lack of trust on his part; he knew better than to do that to Ryo. He really didn't believe that he had found someone else, but he was baffled as to what could consume so much of Ryo's spare time. Maybe he should just beg Ryo to take him along to wherever he went.

But before Dee could speak up and try to suggest plans, Ryo spoke. "Dee, we have off the next two days. Want to take a trip with me? I have something I want to show you, something I bought, and I think you'll be very surprised."

Ah, was this what was on his mind, how to break this new purchase to him? But what the hell did he buy? What would cause that much seriousness and concern? He knew Ryo had been checking out art galleries lately, did he buy something in those lines? He had the money and already owned a small art shop in the Village, so it could be something like that. Maybe a massive art deal? But why did it take so long – almost three months – maybe an import of some kind? Well, he would find out whatever it was tomorrow. He happily replied, "Are you kidding? Any time, any where with you, babe. When are we leaving, and for how long?"

"Let's wait until after rush hour, say 9ish? And pack a bag for overnight."

The day was off to a better start than the past few days. The sun was beginning to shine through the grey haze of clouds, promising a much nicer day. The humidity was still high but the temperature was on the cool side. As they distanced themselves from the city, the temperature lowered and the smell of exhaust and pollution was replaced by the scent of trees and wild flowers. Dee could enjoy this kind of scenery. The Hudson Valley area was really a nice area to be in.

Since Ryo was driving, Dee took charge of the CD player. Ryo mentioned that it would be about a two and a half hour drive so he had some quality nostalgic rock-n-roll lined up for the trip. He couldn't help but grin when he heard the opening notes of one of his favorite songs, My Ding-a-ling. [1]

In a rich baritone voice Dee began singing along with the song, putting strong emphasis on the line, "I want you to play with my Ding-a-ling". Ryo smiled - even fully grown up, a middle-aged Dee could act the child so well. He joined Dee mid-song, and after the final chorus of the song they both laughed heartily.

Sensing a lessening of tension in Ryo, Dee decided to ask him once more about their destination. But yet again, and no matter how hard Dee tried, Ryo wouldn't say another word about where they were going, nor offer any information on what he purchased. He just sat there and smiled while he intently watched the traffic, and bluntly uttered, "You'll see".

They were following the Hudson River, that much he knew, but that was about it. If they went much further, they would be in the Catskills. They had already passed the turnoff for Poughkeepsie, where Ryo and an old family friend operated an antique shop. They had been traveling up Route 9 and according to the sign, had just entered the Hamlet of Highland, when suddenly Ryo turned off the highway into this small town.

Dee took in the sights of the town. It was small, population under 6K according to the welcoming billboard, and looked to be a step back into the past. Nothing serious could ever happen here. But something kept poking him from the back of his mind, there was something he should remember about this place. Ryo made a few turns left and right before finally settling on a quiet, tree-lined street. At the end of the block he turned into the empty driveway of a large Cape Cod home.

Stepping out of the car Dee looked around at the house and yard. Although there was an attached garage in front of the car, from where he stood he could clearly see into the back yard. It was quite large, with a gazebo nestled among the trees in the back; well trimmed shrubs ran along the property lines. The flower beds that bordered the path back to the gazebo were well-kept, filled with various varieties of yellow and gold marigolds. As he turned toward the front of the house he could see more flower beds filled with similar marigolds decorating the edges of the sidewalk. The clapboard siding of the house was a pale cream yellow with forest green trim, and the picket fence looked freshly painted to match the siding. Whoever owned this place took good care of it, just like all the rest of the homes in this area. All were well tended and very eye-pleasing.

Dee decided some comment was necessary. "Oh, we're visiting someone, eh? Beautiful place they've got."

With a wisp of a smile Ryo replied, "Yeah, I guess in a way you could say that. And it is beautiful."

It was then that Dee noticed that Ryo's hands were shaking ever so slightly. Evidently that something special was here. He quietly closed the car door and followed Ryo to the front door.

When they reached the front door Ryo left out a deep breath, then rather than knock at the door, he looked at the keys on his keychain, chose a key, and unlocked the door.

As Ryo pushed open the door to the home, Dee stood stunned in the doorway. Is this what Ryo bought? It was magnificent! They had talked about buying a home away from the city, but this was beyond anything that he imagined.

Evidently he was standing there with his mouth open, because Ryo started to laugh. "Do you want me to carry you over the threshold, Mr. Laytner-MacLean? Welcome to where I grew up and where we will grow old together." Ryo then swept Dee off his feet and carried him over the threshold. "Welcome to our new home, Dee."

Seeing the look of astonishment and confusion on Dee's face, Ryo placed him back on his feet before closing the door behind them. Ryo gathered Dee in his arms, holding him tightly, and laid his head on Dee's shoulder. "I love you Dee. Please don't be angry with me. I've waited a long time for this."

FInally connecting what Ryo had said and that nagging thought that had been harassing him Dee gasped. This was Ryo's hometown, so this was…. Wiggling free of Ryo's hold, Dee stood with his hands on Ryo's shoulders and faced Ryo, his mind suddenly flooded with questions. "You grew up here – in this house? This is your old home where you grew up? How did you get it? Did someone help you? This is what you've been doing for the past three months? Are you OK with being here? I mean, the memories and all..."

Ryo put a finger to Dee's lips. "Sssh. After that first trip we took to the Reinhardts' lodge, I felt that I wanted to come back to this area, that it was time to bury the past and catch up on what I'd lost and forgotten. And since I had been brave enough to work with Evan in the art shop in Poughkeepsie, I bit the bullet and came back to find home."

"The Reinhardts' helped me find a reliable realtor and he's been watching the house for me ever since. I've waited a long time, but the owners finally put it on the market and I bought it back. It should have been mine to begin with. I used what I got from the sale of some of my art objects and quite a bit of the money we'd put away for a home. It's paid in full. All you need to do is put your signature on the paperwork and it's truly ours."

Dee was still in shock, looking around the spacious downstairs while listening to Ryo. The first floor was devoid of furniture except for what looked like a small table and two chairs in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry that I didn't consult you about this, but it was something I wanted. I'd hoped that you wouldn't mind my purchasing us a home without your approval, but I knew you would worry about me buying my old home. Truly Dee, there aren't any really bad memories here, just lots of good ones. And I know we can add many more good ones of our own here.

"The people that owned it took good care of it, so it's much the same as when I left it almost 30 years ago. In fact, they were the ones that bought it from grandfather's friends. The gazebo is something new but I like it, it adds character to the garden. The interior needs a few more changes and of course furniture, but I've managed a few pieces to hold us over until we can shop together for new stuff. I'm just happy that I got it before we retired."

Dee had finally overcome the effects of seeing what was now their home. "Ryo, if I'd known you were going to do this, I would have been behind you 100%. This is way beyond what I expected us to buy. And if this town is as nice as it seems to be, I don't see us having any problems living out the rest of our lives here." Then, returning to normal Dee mode, he asked with a leer in his eyes and a smirk on his lips, "Did you bring the bed here?" When Ryo moved in with Dee, he had put his parents' bed in storage, hoping some day to be able to use it again. It was a bit too large for any of the bedrooms in Dee's expanded apartment.

Ryo laughed, only Dee would make that a priority."That was the first thing I pulled out of storage. It's upstairs in our bedroom. Want to go see?"

"Our bedroom. That sounds really nice. Oh, um, yeah, let's go check it out since I'm gonna live here. And it would also help to know where the bathroom is."

Ryo playfully smacked Dee on the butt. "Smart-ass. There are two and a half bathrooms, one private one in the main bedroom and another for use by the other two rooms upstairs. The half is in the basement. I've got some ideas for furnishings, but I wanted to get your opinion first."

Ryo led the way up the stairs, making suggestions as to how to decorate the stairwell and hallways. Ryo wanted to cover the walls with pictures from the orphanage, of all the children they had known over the years. Dee only half-jokingly remarked they didn't have enough wall space.

Ryo reached around the doorway and turned on the lighting in the room. Dee just stopped and stared from the doorway to the master bedroom. Ryo had done the room in a Japanese motif, with wallpaper that resembled rice paper covering the walls. Strips of dark stained wood were placed over the paper to emulate the rice paper screens in a traditional Japanese home. Where the window peaks extended from the walls, small seats with sea green cushions created a garden seat look. Bamboo rollup shades covered the windows, while simple vines were painted in and around the window area, which extended the outdoor look. The floor looked to be bamboo planking.

Hidden lighting along the edges where the walls met the ceiling softly lit the room, and a large ceiling fan with bamboo blades was centered on the ceiling. The night tables on either side of the infamous bed each held a rice paper lamp, with real ginkgo leaves pressed between two layers of oiled paper. The bed linens carried the ginkgo theme too; the comforter very closely matched the lamps, and the bed skirting was the same material as the cushions. Two kimonos were hung on the wall behind the headboard. Dee recognized them as the ones that belonged to his parents, the ones found in the suitcases included in his inherited impounded goods.

Seeing that Dee had not moved from the doorway, Ryo cautiously asked in a voice just above a whisper, "Do you like it?" Standing behind Dee, he was unsure as to why Dee hadn't moved or spoken.

Reaching back to take Ryo's hand Dee slowly entered the room, still astonished by the small details scattered through the room. "You did this by yourself? Where did you learn to paint like that? And the walls, did you cut the wood strips for all this? No wonder it took you so long to put this together."

Squeezing Dee's hand Ryo smiled, "It doesn't take much to paint a few leaves on the wall."

Dee poked his head into the room's private bathroom for a quick look. The white porcelain fixtures stood out against what looked like a green marble floor. The tub was an old fashioned claw footed tub and absolutely huge. Dee found himself envisioning the two of them bathing together and a lewd smile crept onto his face.

"I don't think I want to know what you're thinking, just from that smile on your face.

Dee turned and grabbed Ryo, pulling him into a very sultry kiss. Once he broke the kiss he asked, "How's that for a hint? Shall we see if we both fit in that tub?"

Aroused by the kiss Ryo replied, "We'll see tonight, won't we?"

Gazing into Ryo's dark eyes all Dee could reply was, "We sure will. Now let's get out of here before I use you to test out the bed. Gotta make sure you put it together correctly." Dee pulled himself away from their bedroom to check out the two other rooms and the main bathroom. He definitely needed a distraction from the bedroom; he never thought that a room's décor could set such a mood. To him, a bedroom was a place to sleep and sometimes for personal entertainment – what it looked like had little to do with anything. Until he saw this room.

Ryo showed him what had been his room when he was growing up, recollecting small events that came to mind. He wanted to use the MacLean tartan to decorate the room, and Dee thought that it was a nice idea, even if the tartan was red and green.

When Ryo entered the third and smallest bedroom his eyes became distant and his voice lowered. "This was always used as the business office here at home. That's why I'm going to make mine downstairs in the basement. There will be no distractions or memories there. This is the only room that brings back sad memories."

Turning to Dee he spoke, "I thought we could do this as an electronics room; you know, flatscreen TV, Dolby stereo system, DVD center, computers – state of the art electronics – the works!

"Don't forget the comfy sofabed so we can curl up together when we watch the movies.

"If we put in a sofabed, we'll never get to see any movies," Ryo replied dryly. "Maybe I'll just put in a few straight-backed chairs." He hid a chuckle when he saw the disbelieving look on Dee's face at the last comment.

Once he had taken Dee through the upstairs, they came down to discuss the downstairs rooms. This time Dee was full of ideas. He moved to the fireplace, running a hand across the mahogany mantle he whispered, "We have a fireplace; I always wanted a fireplace. The old orphanage had one but it was rarely used. Too much chance of the younger kids getting hurt. On special occasions, like Christmas or a heavy snowstorm, Mother would allow it to be used, but only for a few hours. But those were glorious hours. Sometimes she would let us roast marshmallows over the dying coals, just before putting the fire out completely."

Ryo came up behind Dee, gathering him in his arms and resting his head on Dee's back. "So what do you see for this room? I'm biased since I lived here before."

Dee leaned back into Ryo and after a few moments thought replied, "I see two loveseats on either side of the fireplace, with a very large Flokati rug between them for cold-winter-night snuggling in front of the fire." Dee turned his head to look at Ryo. "And maybe a few other activities, eh?"

Ryo held Dee a bit tighter. "We'll discuss the rug activities later. But the loveseats sound like what I envisioned, something rather dated in style yet deceptively comfortable for any guests that visit. We'll give a rather old-fashioned look to the room. Built in fireplaces seem to demand that type of décor."

Dee turned and embraced Ryo, pulling him closer and him an erotically satisfying kiss. "Our home is beautiful, just like you. Thank you."

Ryo stayed in Dee's arms for a few moments, feeling relief that Dee was happy with the home. He was worried that he wouldn't like it, but Ryo wouldn't be Ryo if he didn't worry about something. Giving Dee another kiss, he broke the embrace and took Dee's hand, pulling him toward the kitchen.

Once they entered the kitchen Ryo pulled out two beers from the fridge and a few packages of lunch meat and condiments for sandwiches. The two men put their full effort into making the sandwiches before seating themselves at the small kitchen table to eat.

"I guess I should have gotten some champagne to celebrate. I've just been so busy trying to get everything done so you could see the house at its best. Aunt Elena helped me with the gardens, while Uncle Rick and I did the fence painting and most of the rooms down here. I didn't want to ask them to do too much since they are getting on in years.

"I did the bedroom by myself; it was too personal to share, although I did get Aunt Elena to help me find the cushions and the bedding. I just didn't have the time to scour linen shops for the right thing."

"The basement is only partially finished, the laundry area is done, but there is room to make a small study for my shop work. We'll go down there after lunch. I may put a small fridge down there for convenience. It will save wear and tear on my old decrepit body."

That comment earned a raised eyebrow from Dee. "Babe, that body is anything but old or decrepit."

Ryo ignored Dee's comment; years of experience told him that it was safer that way. Any response would have him in a compromising position in no time flat. "We've got a washer and dryer already, fairly new too, so we don't have to buy that. HVAC is fairly new, so is the roof. I tried to get everything in perfect working order before I brought you up here."

"Ryo, you've done enough to make this the perfect home. If this house hadn't been repainted, if the fence had peeling paint, if it had no garden, do you think I would appreciate it any less? This place is beautiful, I never dreamed of living in anything like this ever, not even as a kid. Remember, I'm the poor city kid left in an alley. This is proof positive that a man's home is his castle. You bought this for us, and I feel like I should have done something to help out."

"You did help out. I said I used the money we put away for a home. Evidently you haven't checked the account balance lately. That we did agree on, remember? We would both pay for the house. What wasn't used will buy the furniture we still need." Then, in a lower tone, "I just hoped you would like it as much as I do. You never had a home, so I was on unknown territory."

"Ryo, don't worry about it. I love the place. And the fact that you got back something precious to you makes me very happy."

Dee then changed the subject, "So where's the nearest furniture store? We need something to sit on in the living room. Although it might be nice, we can't live in the bedroom all the time."

Neither one had a formal dining room set. Ryo's original set was well worn; it had been left in his apartment by the previous owners, and their current place didn't have such a formal layout. The living room was far too elegant for the casual furniture they had, and they didn't have enough to fill the room anyway. In addition to furniture for the living room and dining room, they needed furnishings for two of the rooms upstairs. A few odd pieces were needed for the basement study and their bedroom too, but they weren't a high priority at the moment. Ryo by chance had managed to find a large gold trimmed dresser that coordinated well with the brass headboard and the room's Japanese style, so they did have some storage space for their folded clothing.

It was past dinnertime when they finally got done the first stage of shopping, and neither had seen anything particularly interesting. Ryo suggested they try a few shops in Poughkeepsie tomorrow and Dee agreed. He mentioned that he was hungry so Ryo took him to the local diner for dinner. It wasn't a 5-star rated restaurant, but it had some really good food. Ryo said he had dined here a few times with his Aunt and Uncle while they fixed up the house.

Dee pushed back his chair, patted his stomach, and let out a sigh. "That was one fine meal. If this is an example of the food up here, you aren't getting me to move away."

Ryo smiled. "If you think this is good, wait until I take you to lunch at 'Dad's Place'. I can't believe that we've been together all these years and I've never taken you there. We'll have to do this tomorrow. They've got the best grilled cheese sandwiches you ever ate. Oh, and I'll introduce you to Pete Collins. It used to be his dad's diner – he inherited it when he passed away. That's when he changed the name from 'Down Home Diner'; but he kept most of the menu the same, in his honor. My parents and I used to eat there whenever we all worked stocking the store. Pete's dad had him working in the kitchen on weekends; I'd often see him peering around the kitchen doors when we stopped for lunch."

On the drive home Ryo did manage to stop and get a bottle of champagne for later. Dee insisted.

Even though it was beginning to get dark, Dee was staring out the car window, watching the scenery pass by as they returned to their new home.

_Our home. That sounds scary and comforting at the same time. The house is beautiful, and the work he put into it... Ryo has good memories here. He bought it for us, and I had bad thoughts about what he was doing. Shame on me. Now I feel bad. I'm letting the possessiveness take hold again._

By the time they got back to the house it had gotten dark. Ryo turned off the ignition and was about to open the car door when Dee took his arm, holding him back.

Dee smiled at Ryo and whispered, "I love you," before pulling him in for a very meaningful kiss. Breaking from the kiss and looking straight into Ryo's eyes he added, "And I owe you an apology. I'm sorry."

Ryo gave him a questioning look and asked, "Why?".

"While you were working your ass off getting this beautiful home ready for us, I was thinking bad thoughts. You were so distant – I understand why now, but then, well I knew that I wasn't first and foremost in your thoughts. At the time I envisioned all sorts of bad things, even going as far as thinking you were going back to Matt. Why do you put up with my childish ways?"

Ryo smiled and ran his fingers across Dee's cheek. "Because I love you, and your childish ways, as you put it, are nothing but a reflection of how much you love me. Now, shall we go in and celebrate our new home?"

"Yeah, I'm really wanting to try out that tub."

And they both did fit too, very nicely.

#=#=#=#=#

They had held a combination open-house, birthday celebration, and retirement party several months after moving in, just before the holidays. All personnel from the precinct were invited, even down to the cleaning staff, and they made it a full weekend event so everyone could come. In order to retire at half benefits a police officer had to have over the required 20 years service, which both did, and both decided that they wanted out. Between the inheritance that Ryo had received all those years ago, the profits from the art stores, and their combined savings they had little concern for financial stabillty.

Ryo had set it up as a block party, an open invitation to the town, so those that knew him as Randy from Highland High, the locals who knew the two of them as the crack detective team Laytner & MacLean from New York City, and even those who were just plain curious about the local boy and his husband could attend. He didn't want to hide things; at 45 he had long ago come to terms with himself, and didn't feel anyone had the right to tell him otherwise. And finally they had the law on their side too.

The party was a smash hit. For the most part, both were readily accepted for themselves. After hearing of his return, some of the people who had known him in school had come from out-of-town just to see him again. Although all of the school kids had known about the tragedy of that last year, only a select few had seen Randy since, and then only through the university or a chance meeting on the New York streets. He had finished his schooling in another high school miles away, the one near his Aunt's home.

By the time the weekend was done, both Dee and Ryo knew exactly how celebrities felt. Over the two day period they had signed more than a few autographs, shaken umpteen hands, and smiled more often than they ever thought possible. The neighbors helped supply food stuffs when the trays ran short because Ryo and Dee couldn't keep up. The kitchen was such a disaster it would take a week to clean it, but neither man cared. It was heartwarming to see such support from the townsfolk. Those who were old enough remembered all too well the happenings that tore the MacLean family from their midst. Right now they were very happy to see that the remaining MacLean had finally returned to claim his roots, and joyously celebrated with him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Illustration of the home is on Page 136, FAKE Volume 3]
> 
> [1] My Ding-A-Ling-A-Ling
> 
> This song was released in 1972 and immediately banned on many radio stations. I remember well the shock and dismay of the 'older folk' at such a sinful song being broadcast. I loved it. It became a cult classic.
> 
> In live concerts when Chuck Berry performed this song, originally written by Dave Bartholomew, he eventually altered the lyrics by changing the line, "I want to play with my ding-a-ling" to "I want you to play with my ding-a-ling", which is the line that Dee and Ryo sang. Long Live Rock & Roll!
> 
> Original Full Lyrics  
> When I was a little bitty boy  
> my grandmother bought me a cute little toy  
> Silver bells hangin' on a string  
> she told me it was my ding a ling
> 
> My ding a ling, my ding a ling  
> I want to play with my ding a ling  
> My ding a ling, my ding a ling  
> I want to play with my ding a ling
> 
> And then mother took me to Grammer School  
> But I stopped all in the vestibule  
> Every time that bell would ring  
> catched me playin' with my ding a ling
> 
> Once I was climbing the garden wall  
> I slipped and had a terrible fall  
> I fell so hard I heard bells ring  
> but held on to my ding a ling
> 
> Once I was swimming cross Turtle creek  
> many snappers all around my feet  
> Shure was hard swimming cross that thing  
> with both hands holdin' my ding a ling
> 
> This here song it ain't so sad  
> the cutest little song you ever had  
> those of you who will not sing  
> You must be playin' with your own ding a ling  
> My ding a ling


	14. Never Ending Circle

The Westminster Chimes echoed through the downstairs, alerting both Dee and Ryo to the fact they had a visitor. Dee was closest, having just made a fresh pot of coffee, so he answered the door. The local police chief, Jeff Hopkins, stood there, hat in hand.

Dee was surprised but cordially invited him in. "Chief Hopkins, what are you doing in this neck of the woods? Come on in. Want some coffee? It's fresh."

Chief Hopkins accepted the offer of the coffee and made his way to one of the living room sofas, where Ryo now sat. After making sure that Dee had gotten the coffee for the Chief and seated himself on the other sofa, he asked Chief Hopkins what the purpose of his visit was. They had become friends with the Chief, and very often he would come and ask them to assist in a charity drive for the needy or homeless. Both men figured that was why he was there.

The Chief looked over the two men, thinking back to when they had first gotten his attention as crack NYPD detectives. Dee had acquired a silver streak in the front of his raven hair and Randy's hair had greyed a bit, dulling the burnished chestnut tone to a more silvered hue, but Jeff would know them anywhere. He was 12 years older than Randy, but he remembered Randy and his family quite vividly. Once that tragedy struck, everyone that lived in Highland at the time knew of Randy MacLean, his parents' misfortune, and ultimately the deception by his family.

"No, it's kinda a personal matter. I recall that the two of you were big city detective partners, top of the line too. I remember seeing you guys on TV when a dangerous case was finally solved. In fact, it was usually you two that solved the hardest cases. So, I'll get straight to the point – I want to retire. We'll need a new police chief – and you two just dropped into our laps like a gift from the gods. Any interest from either of you? Randy?"

Both men were surprised by Jeff's statement. They glanced to each other, Dee knowing exactly what Ryo's answer would be, and Ryo knowing what Dee would like to say.

Ryo looked toward the police chief, speaking with a firmness that reflected in his eyes. "Sorry Jeff, I can't speak for Dee, but I personally have had my fill of police work. I've settled here to continue my life's dream – to follow in my parents' occupational footsteps. I've been very fortunate to find some fine resources, both here and in Poughkeepsie, to help enable that dream." Ryo turned and looked at Dee, his gaze seeking out the answer that Dee would give.

Jeff smiled and nodded. He knew that the only reason Randy went into police work was to clear his parents' reputations and incarcerate those who were responsible for their deaths. He hadn't expected a positive answer from him, and would have been very surprised if he had received one.

Smiling and nodding, he turned his attention to Dee. "Well then, what about you Dee? You've got a tough, no-nonsense attitude that will go a long way in keeping the peace, and a strong reputation to back it up. Not that we have a lot of crime here."

Conflicting emotions warred in his emerald eyes. Dee scowled. "It sounds all fine and dandy except for one thing – what the hell are folks going to say about a gay man policing their town? It's not a secret, and not that it would bother me, but I can't set much of an example if they're all sneering down their noses at me."

"Personally, I don't give a rat's ass about your sexual persuasion, and I don't think too many of the townsfolk care one way or another either. It didn't hinder your work in New York one bit. You two solved some of the toughest cases I've seen come out of that hell hole. You're a bit of a hothead but with what you were dealing with, it was quite understandable. I think your reputation will override any hesitation about personal opinions. I'm not saying everyone will welcome you with open arms, but I'm positive that a majority will. We aren't as prudish as you think. Just the turnout at the house-warming you guys held last year is proof of that."

Dee shook his head. "Eh, it's tempting but I'm still not convinced. I don't want Randy run out of his home because of me. It took long enough for him to finally be able to get back here."

"Don't you worry about that. The people in this town were appalled by his family's reaction to the charges. When his grandfather sold the house they tried to stop it. Anybody that knew the family was seething with anger. They chased out the first family that bought the place, made it a living hell for them. Those people were close friends of the grandfather – they lasted maybe a year. I had just started on the police force then – oh the things they did to them, and everybody turned a blind eye. No one saw anything nor knew what happened. It just seemed to be an extreme case of bad luck on their part, I guess." Jeff chuckled at some random memory that surfaced.

"A lot of those original folks are still here. The folks that Randy bought from were good people, and were the ones that bought after the grandfather's friends left, or more truthfully, were run out of town on a rail. Randy is welcome in this town, you too. Remember; quite a few of our settled families here were kids that went to school with him. And a lot of their kids are starting to settle here too."

Dee shook his head. The offer had piqued his interest, but there was too much at stake, this being Ryo's hometown. He was an outsider here, despite being with Ryo. "I'm still not convinced I can buck public opinion."

"You'll never know unless you try. How about a trial run? You guys have been pretty much home bodies since you moved here. How about you hang around the police station for a few weeks, get to know our officers, go on patrols, rub elbows with some the more influential people in the area. See what it's like here, what the locals you will have to deal with daily are like, just see whether you are still uncomfortable. We don't have much serious crime here, you'll be pretty much left alone. Our territory includes a few other hamlets and towns. Speeding tickets, a few drunk and disorderly cases, maybe a bar fight or two, a few breaking and entering – really minor offences - stuff you can handle with your eyes shut. Any real trouble is handled by the state boys. Route 9 is a moneymaker on weekends. Maybe you tooling around on that nice bike of yours will discourage the rabble-rousers that sneak in from 'Keepsie [1] too. The pay will take care of the taxes on this place and buy a pizza or two. Police Chief Laytner-McLean, sounds good, yes? Hell, we could even do an election if you want. We've always just hand chosen our Chief, but I'm not against a popular vote. Might even surprise you with the outcome – show you exactly how accepted you are."

"Let me think about it. I am not about to jeopardize his happiness for a title. I'm not promising anything, but I'll get back to you in a few days, OK?"

"Can't ask for more than that. A pleasure talking with you Dee, and Randy, again, it's good to have you back."

#=#=#=#=#

Dee lay sprawled out on the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and a look of concentration on his face. Ryo was just finishing up a shower and Dee was waiting patiently for him to finish. He wasn't sure what to do, and maybe Ryo would have some suggestions.

Ryo entered the bedroom, toweling his hair dry. Dee watched him approach the bed, the old familiar feelings taking over. _Sixteen years and I still get the hots looking at him. Oh Ryo, what you do to me. Don't ever let me lose this feeling_.

Can I guess that you are having dirty thoughts again?" Ryo looked down at Dee, admiring the evidence of the recently erected occupant of Dee's boxers.

Dee looked down, surprised that he reacted that quickly. "Crap! I can't help it babe, you just do things to me."

So, someone would like me to take care of this?" Seating himself on the side of the bed, Ryo allowed his hand to slide deftly up the one pantleg of the boxers, slowly stroking the waiting prize. "So, are we playing rough tonight, or gentle?" Within minutes he had Dee mewling in ecstasy.

"Ryo, no! I want to talk, not ... ah, Ryo don't do that ... oh, Ryo ..."

Somewhere along the many years of their relationship, his shy partner had slowly taken more control of the reins. Instead of Dee always being the aggressor, Ryo now shared that role, and more than 50-50. To Dee it didn't matter anymore. He loved Ryo with all his heart, and he knew that Ryo equally returned that love.

Dee exited the bathroom freshly showered, only to run into Ryo as soon as he entered their bedroom. "That wasn't fair Ryo. You took advantage of me."

Ryo's dark eyes danced with laughter, "and how is that different from all those years you did the same to me? You just don't appreciate my returning the favor since you say the same thing every time I get the upper hand." His hand strayed to the silver streak in Dee's hair. He loved that streak, it was a turn-on for him, and he just couldn't keep his hands off it. Sliding his hand to the back of Dee's head, he pulled him close for another emotional and passionate kiss.

"So what did you want to talk about, Police Chief Laytner? That's it, isn't it? You want it, but you're afraid for me. Well, don't be. There isn't a person around here that can get us out of our home. No one can blackmail us since we've been open about our relationship since we moved in and we are legally married. We have the support of Highland and probably most of the surrounding towns. So, you will call Chief Hopkins tomorrow – no, better yet, you will ride your chrome pony over tomorrow and accept his offer."

Dee looked at Ryo. "You're sure it's OK?"

"You were the one who always wanted to be a cop, I only wanted justice. I did my job well and got the results I needed. You, on the other hand, need to be in law enforcement; it's in your blood, just like that bike."

Ryo looked Dee straight in the eyes as his hands slid down and removed the towel that had been wrapped around Dee's hips. "So, now that that's said and done, wanna get down and dirty again? It looks like you're ready and able, and I've never been done by a police chief ...though a commissioner I once knew tried like hell to succeed."

"RYO!"

#=#=#=#=#

Inside the State Police Headquarters the Deputy Superintendent, second highest ranking officer in the state police ranks, was busy with the monthly paperwork. The secretary had left a foot-high pile of folders on his desk, the latest reports from around the state. They detailed events from each of the ten regular and two special areas, or 'troops' as they were known, of which the state was divided. The more important happenings were reported by phone immediately, but often hints could be culled from earlier reports. It was boring work, but necessary and important to keep tabs on what was going on in this large state. If anything was found to be out of the ordinary it was immediately turned over to the Superintendent to delegate. The deputy superintendent was leaning back, leisurely sipping his coffee while reading the report from Troop F when he abruptly sat up straight.

"No, this can't be. There's no way in hell this is right!" He pressed the intercom button on the phone, buzzing the secretary in the outer office.

"Yes sir?" answered the feminine voice.

"I need the reports from Troop F for the past six months. Immediately. And in particular anything at all from the Lloyd Police in Ulster County that may have come in."

"Yes sir, I'll get them right away," came the reply.

Colonel Berkeley Rose sank back in his chair, wondering how he had missed such an important piece of information. _You're getting old, Berkie, if you're missing stuff like this._

A half hour later the secretary came in with a handful of folders. He returned to her the folders that he had already finished, rather than get them mixed in with this new issue. She asked if there was anything else he needed and he replied that he needed to free up some time to visit the Lloyd Police, preferably an overnight visit. It would be a wasteful drive if for only one day, and he would rather there be other business that could be handled on the trip. There always seemed to be something going on in that area, and it was fairly close to New York City.

"I'll have to check your schedule. Do you have a specific time, or is this as soon as possible?"

"Within the next week or two will do but the sooner the better. I believe I have some business in New York City sometime next week; if you can schedule it around that." He then dismissed her and started reading through the older reports from the Lloyd Police. He knew there was to be a change of personnel, but he never followed up on the issue. He definitely knew of the change now – the new Chief's first report was in the Troop F folder for last month. Was he going to shadow him his whole life?

#=#=#=#=#

Returning from a routine drive through the town, Dee pulled into the police station, surprised to see an official state police car parked in the lot. _Looks to be one of the big-wigs too._ After parking his cycle in the special area they created for him, Dee disembarked and strode toward the entrance to the office. Officer Greeley, who normally commands the front desk, walked briskly from the station to his Chief. He looked worriedly at Dee and asked, in a hushed tone, "What the hell did you do to get the State Police Deputy Superintendent to come down here? He's been waiting for about 10 minutes – I couldn't get you on your phone."

Dee looked down. Shit, the phone was off. He must have hit it again when he was on the bike. Time to find a new place to carry the phone – or better yet, break down and install a radio on the cycle. The fact that he wasn't contactable right away wasn't going to sit well with the deputy superintendent, and the thought that he was incommunicado didn't sit well with him either.

Dee checked his clothes for dust as he entered the station, his thoughts straying to whomever it was that was waiting for him and why they were waiting. _Come to think of it, who IS the deputy superintendent? Colonel somebody, wasn't it? Bad enough you make him wait, you don't even know his name. Great going Dee. Finally make Police Chief and you can still screw up royally._

"Damn it! So where is he? In my office?"

Greeley nodded and gestured toward the door.

Dee opened the door to his office and froze. Berkeley Rose sat in his chair, feet on his desk, with an amused smile on his face.

Berkeley chuckled, "Well, it wasn't a mistake. Fancy meeting you in a place like this. Who did you strong-arm to get to be Police Chief?"

The shock of the initial scene quickly worn off, and flashing Rose a shit-eating grin Dee bellowed, "Get your ass outta my chair. I don't care who you are, this is my office and my chair, you rat-bastard." As he closed the door Dee could just imagine the looks on his officers' faces. He knew that Greeley wouldn't have strayed far from the doorway, not with State brass in the Chief's office. And the others in the adjoining room had to have heard the comment, but he was certain most of them didn't know he knew Colonel Rose, much less about their working together for years in New York City.

Berkeley stood and walked over to Dee, clasping his hand in friendship. "Good to see you again, asshole. Looks like you've done well since I left the 2-7."

"It doesn't look like you fared too badly either. Colonel Rose, eh?" Dee clapped him on the back, giving him a friendly hug along with it.

The two settled into the chairs, Dee in his while Berks chose the stuffed wing-backed armchair off to the side. Dee reached over and hit the intercom. A male voice answered, "Yes, Sir?"

Dee smiled. "Please send in two coffees, and some of the fresh doughnuts."

"Right away, Sir." A click registered the end of the conversation.

"So what are you doing in my territory, other than making sure I was the same Dee Laytner? We don't often have the state police visit our humble little hamlet. We have a quiet town here, and I'm working hard to keep it that way."

"Just as you said, making sure. I had my doubts – that was a decent report you wrote, or do you still have someone to ghost-write them for you?"

"Oh, low blow, Berks. I do know how to write. But even better, I learned how to delegate. Now all I have to do is read the reports and OK them before I have them sent on to you. You know that leopards don't change their spots."

Both men turned as there was a knock on the door, followed by Greeley entering with a tray containing the previously ordered treats. Greeley entered, the worried look on his face reflecting that he didn't know what to expect when he entered. He placed the tray on the desk and left, surprised that the two men seemed to be old friends, despite the initial outburst.

Berkeley laughed. "Thought so, they sounded too professional for you. Are you and Ryo still together? I seem to remember he grew up somewhere around here."

Dee gave Berkeley his best smile. "Well, some cats can learn to change their spots. As to Ryo and I, we sure are. Sixteen years, married for the last seven and counting. Ryo managed to buy back his family estate and that's where we live. We've been here since we retired, almost two years now. It's a whole different world than New York City. I can see now why Ryo missed the country so much. I don't want to go back to the city now either. We're happy here."

Dee's tone changed. "Ah, where are my manners? I don't know your plans, but are you staying for a while, or is this a drive through visit? I know Ryo would like to see you and chat. How about dinner – our house? We have a spare room you can use if you want to stay overnight, I don't know how much time you have to spare. There is so much to catch up on. We've been out of touch for what, seven - eight years?"

Berkeley smiled, he knew the offer was made sincerely. "Yeah, about that long. DeeDee and I have our ninth anniversary coming up soon. I'd love to stay for dinner. I had intended to stay at a motel rather than travel back tonight since I have other business in the Apple tomorrow. But if it's OK with Ryo then I just might stay at your place. Indeed we do have events to share and memories to rehash."

Before he took Berkeley on a quick tour of the station and the surrounding area, Dee called Ryo to let him know that they wouldn't be dining alone that night.

"Ryo? Dee here. Put extra on for dinner, we have a guest coming, and you'll never guess who. You're gonna love this surprise. He's getting a full police escort too!"

"And you're not telling me whom? Intriguing...Will steaks on the grill do? I can add baked potatoes and corn, along with a nice salad." More as a comment to himself he added, "I'll have to think up a special dessert."

"Sounds good, and get out a nice bottle of wine too, your choice. We'll see you around 6ish, OK?"

#=#=#=#=#

Ryo heard the cycle pull up just as he was taking the potatoes from the oven. He carefully pulled off the apron and placed it on the counter as the front door opened.

"Ryo? Company's here."

As Ryo turned the corner from the kitchen and saw who Dee had brought home, his jaw dropped. This was the last person he would have EVER imagined Dee bringing home.

Smiling, he went over and shook Berkeley's hand. "Berkeley? Oh my, the neighbors are going to suck up now. The State Police Deputy Superintendent in our home? What are you doing in this neck of the woods? Did Dee do something wrong?"

Dee looked totally indignant, and how come Ryo knew he was the Deputy Superintendent? "Hey, now wait just a minute. I've done a good job so far; nobody's complaining. Even the 'Keepsie' gangs are steering clear."

Berkeley laughed, patting Dee on the shoulder. "No, I just missed the fact that he was the new chief down here. I needed to make sure it was the same Dee Laytner and not a poor facsimile. When it comes to Dee, there can be only one."

Not sure if he was making a corny Highland joke, Dee turned and sent a half-hearted glare toward Berkeley.

Berkeley turned toward Ryo, a genuine smile on his face. "How are you doing Ryo? You're looking good. A bit grayer, like me, but otherwise you look in great shape. Evidently life is treating you very well." With a quick turn of the head he added, "And you too Dee, though why you have that sexy silver streak in your hair is beyond me. I don't think Ryo needs any more reasons to get his hands on you."

Just then the timer in the kitchen went off. Ryo went to get the rest of dinner off the stove and to arrange all of it in the dining room. The table was already set, the wine was chilling on the sideboard along with the salad dressings; all that was still needed was to add the food.

Berkeley peered around the corner of the kitchen and asked if there was anything he could do to help, since he was an unexpected guest. Ryo handed him the salad and pointed him toward the dining room, while Dee followed, carrying the steaks.

Berkeley noted the arrangement of the seating. Ryo had the head chair while Dee sat on his right. He had a very strong feeling that the pecking order had changed a bit since the early 2-7 days. Ryo even looked more in charge, more sure of himself. Maybe it was because he could now be himself, not tied to the job of rectifying his parents' deaths.

Even Dee had changed. He had gone from the fierce guard dog that followed Ryo where ever he went to a fine, loyal companion. The possessiveness that he had seemed to finally be toned down to complete obedience to his master. Berkeley had the feeling that if Ryo said 'sit', Dee would.

The meal ended with a sumptuous fruit torte that Ryo had quickly thrown together for this special guest. As they finished the meal Berkeley pushed away from the table stating, "I'm going to have to travel down here more often if this is a sample of the food they feed the police chief. I'm jealous! Dee-Dee isn't exactly the world's best cook."

Dee stifled a laugh. "I'm assuming that comment is off the record? Even I know better than to bait the Sea Hag. That's just cruisin' for a bruisin', and she CAN do it." All three men were in agreement on that statement, even Ryo. Although he had never once really gotten on the bad side of Diana, he had witnessed the results of such encounters with several of his coworkers, and all too often that coworker was Dee.

Ryo insisted on showing Berkeley their home, and Dee mentioned that Berkeley needed a place to stay the night. Ryo quickly agreed to put him up in the spare bedroom should he decide to stay and the tour began.

As they made their way through the house Berkeley recognized several decorative pieces as those that Ryo had inherited through his parents' confiscated goods. The photo album was in a separate glass case in the living room, still in the silver box but with the lid removed to display the family crests.

The walls lining the stairway were covered with photographs of many children from the orphanage. Most were from the past decade or two, but interspersed were photos from Dee's time at the orphanage. He asked about one in particular, and was told that it was one of the few photos of him as a young child. Dee said he was about six then, and it was a special treat to be photographed alone. Normally they were put in a group, oldest and tallest in the back, the youngest being seated on the ground in front. There were the photos taken for the adoption paperwork, but those were never kept with Mother's personal photos.

Berkeley only gave a quick glance at the mens' bedroom, but it seemed to be a very comfortable room. He could see that it was done in a Japanese theme, and very tastefully done. Just by Ryo's body language he could tell that the bedroom was considered a private place not to be shared so he didn't stand outside the room for too long.

The second bedroom was plainer, with mission style furniture, but done tastefully in a very masculine way in a red and green plaid, probably the MacLean plaid if he knew Ryo. A small Japanese painting of a seaside hung over the head of the bed, one that Berkeley recognized as also being from the confiscated items. When Ryo said that this was his old room when he was growing up Berkeley suddenly had mixed feelings about staying in the room.

A third bedroom had been converted to a workroom of sorts, holding a computer desk and two walls of books and videos. The fourth wall was home to a comfortable looking couch. Ryo stated that it had always been a den/study/office type of room, but now had been updated to the latest technology. Across from the couch, nestled in between the books was a flat screen TV, and the computer table held both a desktop and a laptop computer, and a DVD player. Several computer game packages were on the desk, as well as a few DVDs marked 'Property of the MacLean Art Gallery'. Two futons, true Japanese bedding, were rolled up and stored in the one corner, under a bookcase.

The back yard was even more interesting. Ryo had a vegetable garden going in one corner of the yard, tomatoes, peppers, string beans, and other common vegetables were hanging almost ripe from the plant stems. This must have been where the produce came from that was used in the salad. Who knew that Ryo could enjoy this kind of hobby. There was no place for this kind of garden in the city. He knew the corn had to have come from the local Mennonite farms – nothing could compare to the quality and flavor of their crops.

They returned to the house, settling in the living room with the bottle of wine. There they sat and talked until the wee hours of the morning, reminiscing mainly about the 2-7 and where everyone was now.

Berkeley started by saying that DeeDee had switched to being a consultant rather than a field worker with the FBI, making it easier for her to work and tend to the children. Much of her work could be done online or on her laptop, and he felt relieved that he didn't have to worry about getting one of those dreaded phone calls. Berkeley also let them know in detail everything about his two kids, a boy Dennis, now 8, and a girl Amanda, now 6. Both men got a humorous satisfaction in seeing Berkeley boasting about his kids. It seems that time had soothed the savage beast.

Ryo filled him in that he was working as a partner with an old family friend running The Antique Renaissance, a small art store in Poughkeepsie several days a week. He had been able to establish connections with a few of his parents' old contacts and was happily making a modest living following in their footsteps. He also had a small but thriving art gallery in Greenwich Village, which was solely his.

The conversation then switched to past fellow co-workers. Once Berkeley left the 2-7 he lost track of everyone since he had returned to the state police investigative team.

Ryo was the most knowledgeable of the two, and started off the conversation.

"JJ never found his prince charming. I feel sorry for him – he's had so many different partners, but none have been right for him. He and Drake got together for a while, but that lead nowhere. I think they still see each other occasionally but it's nothing serious."

"Drake's never found his significant other either. He's thinking of retiring soon to his hometown in Rochester. I had hopes that he and JJ would work out – the two of them are like lost souls.

Berkeley asked, "Has JJ calmed down any? His antics in the station were the talk of the whole police system."

Dee answered his question. "He's settled quite a bit. I think he's rather disheartened that he never found the happiness that he so desired. It's that way with too many gays. Very few obtain what Ryo and I have, and that in itself is a shame."

Berkeley shook his head in understanding. "How about Ted? He was another that was always looking for love, even if he wasn't very good at it."

Both Dee and Ryo laughed at the same time, with Ryo again answering Berkeley.

"Oh, well, Ted met his match. Remember the new partner he was given, right before you left, Carmelita Lopez? Well, they got married, and she wears the pants. That judo flip she gave him when they first met was no fluke! Thing is, I think he enjoys being henpecked.

Emails and phone numbers were exchanged, and promises were made to get together soon with Berkeley's family. Dee-Dee was sure to love this place, and she surely would appreciate getting together with 'the boys' after all these years.

As he drove away the next morning, Berkeley had a sad smile on his face. He had stayed less than 24 hours, but in that short a time he could see that he never had a chance with Ryo. Ryo may have belonged to Dee while Dee had been chasing him, but that only lasted until Dee caught him. What was more important is Dee never realized that by the time Ryo had given in to him, he had already belonged to Ryo.


	15. The Final Chapter

t was the Christmas season again. Ryo had gotten the gifts for both Bikky' s family and Carol's crew. Since both had moved to rather distant locations there was no chance of seeing them in person, so he had sent them out express delivery. He had called them both tonight rather than wait until Christmas day – he knew that they would be busy with their families and didn't want to interrupt them.

The previous week had been kept busy doing the decorating, but even that brought sad memories. Dee would always walk behind him holding the pine roping while he arranged it on the picket fence. Dee had tried to do it one year, but Ryo kept fussing with what he had finished so Dee let him do it, consenting to be the helper.

The outdoors was done in a mostly winter theme – plain pine roping and wreaths decorated with white lights and red bows. The inside decorations and tree were done in the same theme – plain white lights with red ornaments and bows. But Dee insisted that a small crèche be placed on the mantle, a remembrance from his youth and a reminder of Mother Lane. As Ryo placed the small nativity scene in the center of the mantle, he let out a small, sad sigh and whispered, "I miss you so much Dee."

He wandered to the kitchen, just now realizing that he hadn't eaten anything since morning. He put the kettle on for a cup of tea before searching for something to eat. A quick glance in the fridge did nothing to excite his appetite. Opening the cabinet door he took out a loaf of rye bread and placed two slices in the toaster. He took the butter from the fridge and a plate from the cupboard while waiting for the toast to finish.

He set the tea to brew as he buttered the toast, silently settling in the kitchen chair to eat his Christmas Eve feast. The loneliness just siphoned all his spirit from him during the holidays any more. He got a slight reprieve when he called Bikky and Carol, but it wasn't the same as having someone near and dear holding you as Christmas morning dawned.

He automatically cleaned up the dishes and wiped down the table and counter after finishing the tea and toast. His life had now become a mindless routine, nothing ever changed. He turned off the tree lights and climbed the stairs. He didn't feel like watching the reruns of the Christmas specials again. It was early but he decided to head for a shower, and then to bed.

He curled up on his bed, hugging Dee's pillow. Another Christmas Eve alone. When would they end? Dee had been gone for several years now, and it still wasn't easy to sleep alone. Getting old was no fun when there wasn't anyone with which to share your time. His mind had wandered to past Christmases when his eyes spotted the crystal Buddha on his dresser. Dee had gotten that for him so many years ago.

Slowly the strains of Silent Night being sung by the neighborhood carolers drifted through the night air to penetrate the silence of his bedroom. _I think I'll pass on greeting them this year. I'm feeling really tired._ A tear silently fell from his eye; that song was the only one that could make him cry every time he heard it. He closed his eyes to the darkness of the night, but not to the darkness of the loneliness in his heart. The solitary tear was joined by another as he slid into a deep sleep.

#=#=#=#=#

Ryo woke to the sound of Dee calling his name. He tried to sit up but couldn't. He opened his eyes and noticed that he was no longer in his bed. He was seated on a park bench, the surrounding ground covered with a few inches of snow.

"I must be dreaming," he spoke aloud, as he tried to figure out where he was. It seemed to be sometime in his past, maybe even somewhere in Highland. But then the voice called again.

"Ryo, hey, over here!" called Dee, waving his arm in the air to get his attention. "Gee, we thought you might not make it in time. Everybody is waiting to celebrate this Christmas Eve together with you! Your parents are waiting: Penguin's here too!"

Through tear-filled eyes, Ryo watched as Dee's youthful soul approached to embrace him in a loving welcome. Now he knew where he was. He was home.

 


End file.
